Pink, Like Posies
by Eternity and a Day
Summary: What with a grand opening, spies, a school tournament, and the odd budding romance, team RWBY have a lot on their plate. Good thing our favorite not-so-delicate flowers are bunched together. White Rose served with a slice of Bumblebee.
1. Chapter 1

Pink, Like Posies

Chapter 1

"So let me get this straight Weiss. You want us to go, armed, to your big company do, and pretend to be your security pretending to be guests?" Yang asked across the table. The four members of team RWBY were talking over dinner, amidst the bustle of the rest of Beacon getting their evening meal.

"Essentially, yes." Weiss was gradually getting more frustrated, as she had been explaining things, in great detail, to the group for the last twenty minutes. It was not _that_ complicated.

"So... why are we doing this again?"

"So that her father can feel she's safe, in light of recent White Fang activities as well as other problems, without drawing excessive attention to the extra security, because it looks bad to the other guests." Blake spoke without even bothering to look up from her book. Blake had listened the first time, then zoned out of the conversation when Ruby and Yang had started asking for it to be explained again. She turned a page then continued, "Given that we are Weiss' friends and team-mates, nobody would be terribly surprised that we were invited by Weiss. Also, it would be relatively easy to conceal our weapons, with the exception of Crescent Rose, which we can probably deal with."

Blake's eyes trailed to the end of the chapter, then she looked up and closed the book. "That sum it up properly?"

Weiss nodded. Ruby raised a hand, "Question!"

Weiss sighed, "What?"

"Will we have to dress up for this?"

"Yes. If you look scruffy, you won't be allowed through the door." Weiss's words had an edge to them. She knew that she would have to make Ruby and Yang show her their costumes in advance, if she wanted even a slight chance of something sensible coming out of their wardrobes. At least Ruby's questions were vaguely sensible, unlike her sisters'.

"So what's the whole event about anyway?" Blake asked. "I don't think you mentioned."

"It's the reopening of one of our handling plants. It was... er... taken out in an attack."

'By the White Fang,' everyone added mentally. Weiss was not the most sensitive person, but she did not want to say anything to cause another major upset with Blake.

"But yes, it will just be a dinner for the special guests, ourselves included, at the Schnee Company's Vale HQ, followed by a ceremony at the plant itself. Nothing 'important' per se will be done, I'm only going to be there because my father is busy back home."

"And the reason for there to be extra security?" Blake asked.

Weiss sighed. She knew Blake would catch on. "Well, this is not to be mentioned to anyone else, but the plant's been upgraded to new tech. I don't know the details, but it's a new extractor method. We're actually less worried about terrorists, and more about our competitors. We'll be debuting the tech on the day of the opening."

"Nothing important then?" Blake asked, her voice cutting the air.

"Officially, no."

Weiss smiled, while Blake glared at her. Yang glanced between the two, expecting sparks to start flying.

"Will there be cookies?" Ruby asked, sounding like the question was of the utmost importance, stroking her chin as she spoke.

"Er..." Weiss was so utterly thrown off by the question that she forgot to keep up the staring contest with Blake. "Probably not."

"O~w..."

Weiss sighed, "I'll get you a bag afterwards, okay?"

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Excellent!" Ruby stood up, a manic smile on her face. "Ladies! Team RWBY will soon begin our next great mission, going to Weiss's party!"

"We didn't agree to this..." Yang put in.

"You're going to try to argue with Ruby when she's been promised cookies?" Blake asked.

"No, I just wanted it on the record that I never agreed to this, so I can say 'I told you so' should anything go wrong, which, given we're involved, is the most likely outcome."

"Hush team-mates! The mission will commence at the crack of dawn!" Ruby continued without any loss of excitement.

"Uh... it isn't until Monday," Weiss put in.

"I know. You see Weiss, I have this teensy tiny problem."

Weiss gave her a quizzical look. "Hit me."

Ruby was surprised, but lightly punched Weiss on the shoulder. "No you dolt. I mean what's the problem?"

"Oh, I thought it was odd that you wanted me to punch you..."

"Maybe she's into that!" Yang offered with a grin.

If looks could kill, Yang would be six foot under and partying with the Devil from Weiss' glare.

"But anyway, so what is this little problem?" Weiss asked, smiling at Ruby. Weiss was genuinely in a good mood with Ruby suddenly, largely because the young leader was not her big sister. Weiss should have been aware that this mood would, nay, could not last.

"Well I don't have anything to wear..."

* * *

"Really?" Weiss was digging through Ruby's section of their wardrobe, desperately searching. "Ruby Rose, do you really have nothing more presentable than your school uniform to wear?"

"Well I don't go to many formal events, and the last time I went to one was, like, two years ago, so my dress wouldn't fit me any more, and when I came to Beacon I didn't think I'd be needing one, so I didn't bother to go and get a new one, and I haven't needed one so far, so, ya know, I think I can be excused and Weiss please stop glaring at me, it's scary and it will give you wrinkles."

Weiss just stared at her, until the redhead stopped talking for air. "You done?"

"If I am, will you call me an idiot and tell me just how much work this is going to be, and that I should have thought about it previously for five different reasons?"

"I was going to, but now that you've just gone through it all I think I can miss out most of it."

"Okay, in _that_ case, I'm done."

"Ruby Rose you IDIOT!"

Weiss began talking Ruby's ear off, while Yang and Blake sat back watching the two.

"So when are you going to tell her you don't have anything suitable?" Blake asked Yang.

"Hey, at least for me the excuse is that I don't have anything with sleeves that can hide my gauntlets."

"You think she'll accept that?"

"No, but I can hope."

The two watched as Ruby and Weiss argued, or more accurately Weiss argued at Ruby. Yang frowned, remembering a certain conversation from a few days before. Blake noticed the expression, and raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong Yang?"

"Nah, not really, just thinking about something," Yang had considered trying to completely hide her thoughts from the faunus, but she knew full well that Blake was too smart for that.

"Well if it's anything that I can help with..."

"Sorry... it's just..." Yang glanced at her sister, who was now laughing as Weiss scowled at her, though the older girl's glare was clearly an attempt to hide Weiss's own amusement, which still showed through. Yang sighed, "It's just a family issue."

* * *

The scene: a small clothes shop in Vale. The occasion: finding Ruby a dress. The actors in our little play: Ruby herself, an irritated Weiss and a distressed shop assistant.

Weiss was just wondering whether this story was more a comedy or tragedy.

"Ruby, would you at least try them on before deciding you can't stand the thought of being seen in them?"

"But... the frills are scary, and those things are gonna be hard to move in." Ruby pouted as she spoke.

Weiss was glad her hair was white, otherwise Ruby would have caused her to go grey by now.

"Look, much as you being able to move would be nice, first and foremost you have to look presentable.

"But..."

Weiss sighed, "If you try on the ones I give you, I'll give you a cookie for each."

Ruby looked as though a great struggle were going on inside her mind. On the one hand, her desire to dine on doughy delicacies was strong, but on the other hand, her phobia of frills made her uncertain.

"Please just do it," Weiss sounded pleading, a rare thing for her, and Ruby gave in.

"Alright, but not the really frilly ones."

"Okay, well lets start with these ones..."

Weiss handed the dresses to Ruby, who then vanished into a dressing room. Weiss wondered vaguely what her next bank statement would look like, littered as it would be with large orders of cookies. While some would call it bribery, Weiss preferred to think of it as peaceful persuasion.

A little time later, Weiss was almost as fed up of frills as Ruby. She finally got why Ruby disliked them, they did not fit the redhead at all. It was something about her which just clashed horribly. Weiss now owed the girl about eight cookies, and was getting desperate.

"Okay, do you have anything else in red?" Weiss asked the assistant, who looked terrified by this point.

"Uh... well there's this one... it's a little odd though, so I didn't mention it."

"Hit me," Weiss said, stepping aside as Ruby lunged at her.

"O...okay."

It was a black dress, going down to just below the knees. No frills, just nice and straight material. There was an embroidered pattern of red diamonds going down the skirt. The oddity that the assistant had been referring to was the attachment that came with it: a bright red hooded shawl that was far too bright and far too long for any normal person to consider, dragging along the floor as the shop assistant failed to keep it off the ground.

Ruby and Weiss stared at it, then looked at each other. Ruby took the dress and vanished, reappearing much faster than the previous times, wearing the dress. Weiss sighed, why had it taken so long to find this?

"We'll take it," Weiss said.

The assistant seemed surprised, but by now was glad the pair were buying anything, so swiftly sold them the dress and said a polite goodbye.

Stepping out, Weiss sighed, "So... next stop is a shoe shop..."

"Uh-uh!" Ruby shook her head, "It's lunch time, and somebody promised me cookies."

Weiss had barely drawn in breath again, but sighed once more. "Fine, just... fine."

* * *

Yang stared out the window in team RWBY's dorm room. Ruby and Weiss were out shopping, and Blake had gone to the library, leaving Yang to do something she rarely spent much time on: thinking.

The same conversation had been floating through her mind for the last few days, it had been between her and her sister. Ruby had come up to Yang, and simply said she wanted to talk in private. The two had sat down on a bench in the courtyard of Beacon, away from anyone else, and Ruby had been fidgeting.

"What did you want to talk about then, that you couldn't say in front of the others?"

Ruby had fidgeted some more, before eventually speaking, "Yang... I think... I think I'm... into girls."

Yang had blinked a few times, wondering if she had misheard. "Sorry, run that by me again."

"Yang, I'm gay." Ruby looked up at her sister with a terrified look.

"That's what I thought you said..." Yang sighed, then chuckled. "So?"

"So... um... yeah," Ruby was clearly lost for words.

"You didn't think I would hate you for it, right?"

Ruby shook her head, "Well... I was a little scared."

"Well if I'm being completely honest, I get where you're coming from."

"You mean..."

Yang laughed, "I go both ways."

"Oh..."

Silence.

It was more out of awkwardness than anything else. Both sisters knew that the other had nothing against each others' preferences, but it was the awkwardness of not being sure how, if at all, they should now act differently.

"So..." Yang began, "...what made you realise?"

That was the question Yang wished afterwards that she had never asked. But what was done was done.

"I... I..."

"You what?"

"I like another girl."

Yang raised an eyebrow. It was not unexpected, but now Yang was going through every girl Ruby knew at Beacon, ticking off a list. There was no way it was Nora: hyper as Ruby was, Yang just could not see that. Pyrrha was unlikely, but not impossible. Then there was Blake, but again, Yang could not see her sister with the faunus, though she had to admit is was possible. Other than that there was...

'Oh no...' Yang realised the true horror of what Ruby was about to say, just before the girl said it. 'Anyone but...'

"I like Weiss."

In the present, Yang was still thinking about those three words.

"Why Weiss?" she muttered to herself, and yet she knew why. She saw how they interacted, and while Weiss always acted cold, she let Ruby get closer to her than anyone else, and while she was mean to Ruby, Weiss always did it because she cared. Even her latest outburst yesterday, all about the clothes, was likely just because she wanted Ruby to fit in with the high-class persons who would be showing up.

Yang could not hate Weiss, but sometimes really wanted to.

She had asked what Ruby liked about Weiss, and Ruby had just fidgeted more, before mumbling "Well she's really beautiful... and she's kind, even if she doesn't like people to notice, and I think she just wants to get closer to all of us, because she's lonely, and I don't want her to be lonely any longer."

Yang knew all of that was true, lonely little Weiss just wanted somebody to be with, and Ruby was the person who seemed to fit the bill best. Yang was worried though. She did not see Weiss taking Ruby's crush well. But even worse was that, if Weiss did, if Ruby and Weiss became a couple, then...

"Then I'll become the lonely one," Yang murmured to herself.

* * *

As Ruby and Weiss ate their lunch, chatting together about this and that, mainly the upcoming event, a pair of eyes stared down at them, watching through binoculars from a nearby rooftop. He was dressed in black, close-fitting clothes, with a belt strapped across his chest, carrying three pouches on the front and his weapon on the back.

The man reached to a transceiver clipped at his waist, and put it to his ear. "This is Swooping Hawk, calling. Rune Knight, do you read me? Over."

A man's voice replied, full of irritation, "_For the hundredth time, we are _not_ using those code names._"

"You could at least remember to say 'over.' Over."

A stream of static accompanied a sigh from the other end of the radio. "_Anyway, I'm here, what's going on?_"

"Just reporting in, the White Rose are having lunch. The Bumblebee haven't flown nearby. Over."

The other voice paused, trying to work out what his partner was trying to say, then replied, "_So what have those two been doing?_"

"Trying on dresses for Target Red. They spent about an hour and a half in one shop, then came out with a purchase. After that, they went straight for lunch. Over."

"_Fine, maintain surveillance, inform me of any combat-related purchases they make._"

"Yes sir! Over."

"_And Xin..._"

"Yes sir? Over."

"_You really don't need to use the radio jargon._"

Roger that sir. Over and Out."

Xin replaced his transceiver and returned his full attention to his targets. They had finished their meals, and Weiss was paying the bill. Xin lifted himself up, preparing to move, when he froze. Ruby was staring right at him. He hoped she had not seen him, but then Ruby stepped over to Weiss, and said something in her ear. Weiss stared at the girl briefly, then slammed some money on the table, saying something to the waiter, as the two hurtled out of the cafe, and straight towards him.

"Ah shit..." He got up and started running, putting his transmitter to his ear. "Sir! Do you hear me?"

"_I hear you, what is it?_"

"I've been spotted, requesting extraction."

"_Make your way to Point __Eta__, I'll meet you there._"

"Yes sir!"

Xin pulled a balaclava from one of the pouches, and put it on as he ran. He knew enough about his pursuers to be certain that he did not have long to get out of there.

* * *

"Are you sure you saw a person?" Weiss asked as she hurried to keep up with Ruby.

"Well unless the binoculars were floating there by themselves."

Weiss was slightly taken aback. Was Ruby... being sarcastic to her? Weiss could not help but smile. She had taught the redhead well it seemed.

A shadow leaped between two rooftops, and both pairs of eyes fixed on it. "There!" Ruby called out.

"I see!" Weiss summoned a sigil, which the two leaped up to, then up to the roof, seeing the fleeing figure in the distance.

"Ready to go?" Ruby asked.

"Always."

* * *

'Till Eternity Ends

E.D.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ruby and Weiss dashed after the shadowy figure, who seemed to be running towards the edge of town, leaping from roof to roof with relative ease. The partners were close on his tail, with Weiss creating bridges between the roofs which she and Ruby dashed across.

They were closing on the figure, but only gradually. As they reach a long continuous roof, Weiss shouted to Ruby, "Go get him now! I'll catch up."

"Sure," Ruby seemed to vanish from existence, only a trail of red petals showing where she had been.

The trail extended up to the fleeing figure, then curved in front of him. The figure stopped his run, and grabbed the block of metal on his back. The block transfigured into an assault rifle, and he unleashed a wave of bullets at the point where the trail of petals ended, just as Ruby seemingly materialised, Crescent Rose in her hands.

Ruby was surprised at the hail of bullets, and had to hurriedly dodge about. Her aura absorbed a few hits for her, but the unexpected attack left her off-balance. Weiss was now close behind the man, and had drawn Myrtenaster.

The man glanced between the two girls, and flicked a switch on his gun, which elongated, forming itself into a spear. He clutched his weapon in his right hand, as his left went to a pouch, grasping a small bottle.

Ruby steadied herself, and hoisted her scythe up, readying it for a charge. All three fell still, none of them moving a muscle, watching each other carefully, waiting for even the slightest motion.

All at once, the man raised his spear, Ruby charged at him raising Crescent Rose and Weiss dashed in lunging at her target, frost gathering around her rapier. As the two girls reached him, the man smirked, and pulled the bottle out of his pouch, then threw it at his feet. Ruby caught sight of it, and shouted "Dust!"

The two girls rolled away as flames rose from where the bottle had shattered, both landing crouched as the smoke billowed, and both scanning for any sign of their target. As they looked and listened, they heard a whirring noise in the distance, coming closer. Both glanced in its direction, and laid eyes on a helicopter flying towards them.

Out of the smoke, the man burst into a run towards the helicopter, and the girls followed in an instant, Ruby going invisible once again as she moved faster than the eye could see. She swung at the man as he was running away, aiming to take his legs out. He somehow knew it was coming though, and diving over the blade and into a roll, picking himself up quickly and continuing his dash. Ruby was surprised, but kept running after him. The helicopter was close now, she would only have one more chance.

This time, he did not get to dodge.

She made a strike to his chest, which he barely managed to block with his spear. She had forced him to halt, and he turned to the girl, thrusting with his spear as he turned. Ruby whirled her blade at breakneck speeds, literally if one were struck, but the man kept blocking. How he was capable of even seeing, much less reacting to, the attacks was beyond her. Then she noticed a golden glow to him.

"Ruby, they've got a mage on board that thing!"

Weiss had spotted a figure in the helicopter, who had opened the door and was now gripping onto a hand-hold on the inside. His free hand was glowing with the same golden glow as the man on the ground, and Weiss could tell with a glance that he was using dust. It was a technique Weiss herself used, to hasten a person's mind and body. It would allow even a normal person to kept up with Ruby's speed if a good enough mage were using it.

Ruby and the man became a blur which Weiss gave up on trying to keep track of. She needed to deal with that mage. Setting her sword to red, she drew back her arm as flames wrapped around her blade, then thrust it towards the helicopter. A lance of flame shot at the mage, who saw it just in time to summon a frozen barrier. However, his break in the first spell meant that Ruby was able to deal a blow to her suddenly slowed opponent. He was knocked back by the sudden impact, but picked himself up glaring at the girl. "Sorry darling, but I've got a flight to catch."

He leaped into the air, far higher than anyone would normally be able to, flipping over in mid-air, and landing perfectly inside the helicopter, ducking behind the mage quickly. Weiss was swiftly throwing more fire and ice at the helicopter, and Ruby spun her weapon round and started shooting at the craft.

"Get moving!" the mage shouted to the front of the helicopter, as he grabbed a small circular green crystal from a pocket. "Arrivederci, ladies!"

A powerful gust of wind blew as the crystal glowed, then blew apart as dust on the wind. The resulting gale knocked Ruby and Weiss off their feet, and the helicopter, seemingly unaffected, flew higher and turned away, flying out of the city.

Ruby pulled herself up, and looked over at Weiss, who was looking extremely pissed off, but mixed in was a hint of confusion.

"You okay?" Ruby called over as she stood and dusted herself off.

Weiss had managed to get to her feet again, still with clear irritation on her face. "What was their deal?"

"Dunno..." Ruby was now just calming herself down after the fight. She put Crescent Rose on her back, and sighed with relief. "We'd better head back, talk to the others."

"Yeah, well, we got what we came for... wait where's your bag?"

"Uh... I may have been in such a hurry that I possibly left it in the café..."

"Ruby you idiot!"

* * *

"I hardly think that was called for," Yang said after Ruby and Weiss had finished explaining their adventure to the rest of their team. The four were sitting in their dorm, Yang and Blake on Blake's bed, and Ruby and Weiss on Weiss's. Yang had noticed how Weiss only ever allowed Ruby to sit on her bed, with moderate interest.

"But we had to go all the way back, covered in muck from the chase, and ask very nicely if they'd picked up our bag." Weiss was starting to whine, and all the other girls shared a glance.

"Look, that's not important right now," Blake said, before Weiss got a chance to whine some more. "What's important is that somebody was likely spying on you two, and potential us as well. They knew Ruby's semblance right?"

"Seemed to," Ruby replied, "...at least he knew where to shoot when I was slowing down."

"Right, so somebody has been spying on us, next question, who?" Blake asked.

"Torchwick maybe?" Weiss suggested.

"Possibly, but it just doesn't... feel like him." Blake's comment was odd, but the others knew what she meant. Torchwick was never one to hide his presence on the scene. If nothing else, he was always willing to do his own dirty work.

"Also, if he had mage like that up his sleeve, he'd have used the guy before. Heck, the other guy was pretty good too," Weiss pointed out. "That's another thing, there was something weird about the mage."

"How so?" Yang asked.

"Well..." Weiss was uncertain how to explain what she had noticed. "How much do you three know about using dust?"

"A little," Blake replied.

"Only what we covered in class," Yang answered.

"We covered it in class?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, you slept through it though I think," Yang said with a smile.

Weiss groaned, "Okay... well I'll try to keep this simple. Dust is essentially... the 'fuel' for magic. Depending on the skill of the user, they can get better results from a given amount of dust. The more skill a user has, the more power they can get from a given amount of dust, and the faster they can access it, in addition to being able to manipulate it better."

"However, as with any fuel, you can only get so much power out dust. Think of it like burning wood. No matter how good your furnace, you can only get so much heat from the wood. No matter how good the mage, you can only get so much power from a given amount of dust."

Weiss paused, "You follow that?"

Blake nodded. Yang looking slightly more hesitant before nodding as well. Ruby just stared at Weiss, eyes seemingly enraptured by the pale girl.

"Ruby?"

"Wow... I sometimes forget you're really smart Weiss!"

"Er.. I'm not sure what to say to that... but anyway..."

Blake interjected, "Let me guess, this mage used much more power than he should have, given the size of the crystal he used."

Weiss nodded, "Exactly. Even if it were the highest purity, with only the small size of crystal he used, he shouldn't have been able to achieve that much power."

"So he has another source as well maybe?" Yang suggested, knowing Weiss would already have thought of it, and would explain why that could not be the case.

"That's what I find odd, he very deliberately took that crystal out. But with the amount of power he used, that crystal became effectively irrelevant. He used about ten times the amount of power that little crystal contained."

Blake looked thoughtful, "I see... he wouldn't have needed the crystal at all in that case, it was just a waste..."

"Quite: it just doesn't make sense."

Blake and Weiss both looked deep in thought, while the two sisters looked between them, not really getting everything.

"Well," Yang spoke up, "there's not much point worrying about that right now. The main thing to worry about is this party. I mean, it's the day-after-tomorrow, and I still need to get another layer with long sleeves, and Ruby needs her shoes."

Weiss smiled a little, glad to move away from the more serious and worrying topic for a little bit. "Well, I think I can solve Ruby's shoe problem actually. Give me a moment..." Weiss stepped over to the wardrobe by the foot of her and Ruby's beds, and started rummaging within the closet.

"Hey Blake, how's about you and me go shopping tomorrow?" Yang turned to her partner.

"Sure, I should probably get some things." Blake still seemed to be deep in thought, in spite of Yang trying to turn the conversation to a lighter topic.

Weiss came out of the closet with a pair of white high heels, and Yang very nearly made a bad joke, but stopped herself at the thought of what her sister had mentioned a few days before. 'Best not to bring things like that up if she doesn't want to.'

"Ruby, try these on," Weiss gave her the shoes.

"But... these'd really clash with my outfit." Ruby examined the brilliant white shoes, which she was sure would go horribly with her usual black and red attire.

"I just want you to try them for the feel of the shoe, we can get you some red ones, but I think you'll appreciate the design."

Ruby looked anything but happy, but put the heels on nonetheless. The fit pretty well for another person's shoes, though she felt rather unstable on the heels.

"Come on, walk about a bit," Weiss said as Ruby grimaced, then wobbled about a bit.

"I haven't worn heels in ages... there's no way I'm gonna be able to fight in these."

Weiss chuckled, "That's the trick. Tap your left toe to the right heel twice."

Ruby gave Weiss a quizzical look, but only received a nod from her, as if to say 'go on.' When Ruby did as told, she felt the shoes suddenly shift, and the heel spikes folded themselves up, flattening against the soles of the shoes. Ruby lifted up a foot to look at the sole, and saw that the spike was telescopic. It had collapsed entirely into the shoe.

"Wow, that's awesome." Ruby walked around in them, moving easily in the now flat shoes.

Weiss smiled at the redhead's comment. "They were originally a fashion design, so that you didn't need to carry a spare pair of shoes around, then someone thought they might have more... varied uses. To extend the heel again, just do the same thing with the opposite feet."

Ruby tapped her right toe to her left heel, and felt her heels rise up. "Wow, this is so cool!" She tried descending again, then ascending once more.

"Don't over-do it," Weiss scolded gently, laughing at Ruby's glee as she played about with the shoes. "So if I get you a pair in red and black, would those do?"

Ruby nodded, "Thanks Weiss."

"I'll get on that then," Weiss picked up her scroll, and started tapping on it.

Blake meanwhile was moving a pile of books, then picked them up, and headed to the door. "I'm gonna head to the library, I need to return these." She glanced at Weiss specifically, and said in a hesitant voice "I'll try to find some books on unusual dust use... I might be able to find something."

Weiss nodded her thanks, the troubled look she held earlier returning to her face.

Blake struggled with her pile of books and the door, until Yang opened it for her. "Seriously Blake, just ask for a hand. Gimme those," and with waiting for a response, Yang took a large half of the books from Blake. "I'll go help you, at least I can carry anything useful."

Blake simply nodded, and the two left, Yang starting some noisy banter, with Blake just quietly following.

Weiss returned to tapping at her scroll, and Ruby, having had her fun, sat down next to Weiss on the bed and took the shoes off.

"What size are you?" Weiss asked, confusing Ruby slightly.

"Eh?"

"Shoes, what size are you?"

"Oh... same as you."

Weiss nodded, and returned her gaze to the scroll. Ruby flushed slightly. 'Of course that was what she was asking, stop embarrassing yourself by being stupid Ruby.'

"There, done. The shoes will be delivered tomorrow," Weiss said turning to Ruby, only to spot the bizarre look on her face. It was somewhere between 'deep in thought' and 'extremely irritated,' and Weiss did a double take.

"Something wrong Ruby?"

"Ah... no nothing!" Ruby replied, and Weiss narrowed her eyes.

"Ruby, don't lie to me. We promised we'd talk to each other if we had any problems. It's obvious that something's troubling you."

"It's not like that... it's just..." Ruby was desperately thinking of a way out of the situation which did not involve running out of the room.

"Ruby!"

"Look, sorry Weiss, but I really can't talk about it." Ruby really did not want to have to explain that the reason she was so deep in thought was that she was trying not to embarrass herself in front of her crush, especially not _to_ said crush.

Weiss pouted, "What? Am I not good enough for you to tell?"

"No! It's not that... I..." Ruby's words caught as she saw a look of sadness in Weiss's eyes. Weiss had attempted to hide it behind irritation, but Ruby knew that look too well. It held sorrow and loneliness, a look that spent far too much time wandering Weiss's countenance.

"Look..." Ruby began, deciding that it would be okay to tell some of the truth. "It's... kinda weird, so please don't laugh, or... be disgusted..."

Weiss was now simply confused, "Ruby, if you're about to confess that you ate all the cookies last week, don't worry, we already know."

"That's not it! Though yes, I did, I didn't think you'd notice."

"We keep a separate stock because we know you'll just take them by the dozen."

"Oh..." Ruby looked slightly put-out.

"But regardless, I promise I'll do my best not to laugh, and I'll only be disgusted if you deserve it, which I highly doubt."

"Well..." Ruby took a deep breath, then said very quietly, "I'm into girls."

Weiss blinked, "Beg pardon?"

"I realised lately that I'm... gay, lesbian, whatever you want to call it."

Ruby was staring at her feet, and Weiss was staring at Ruby. Silence fell, and the sound of a pin dropping could have been heard with ease.

Weiss repeatedly opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out each time, so she just closed her mouth and watched the younger girl.

"I... I didn't tell you 'cause I didn't want you guys to be uncomfortable about it... I was just so worried about what would happen, even though I really wanted to tell you. I didn't want to hide myself from you..." Ruby was mumbling, but Weiss caught every word.

Weiss smiled, and cautiously put an arm round the younger girl, bringing her into a light hug. Ruby looked up, and for once could not read Weiss's expression. Behind the smile, there seemed to be countless swirling emotions, but one major one which Ruby had feared was missing: hatred. The smiled was genuine, if small.

"It's fine Ruby."

"Weiss?"

"It's fine." Weiss hugged the girl tighter. "We're fine with you the way you are, regardless of anything like that. Heck, Blake would probably find it really cute for you to crush on her, Pyrrha too... then there's Nora... you don't love Nora do you?"

"No..."

"Good, I don't want to think about having the two of you babbling love at each other all day," Weiss made a face, and Ruby giggled, then stared at Weiss, preparing herself for the next question.

"What if it were you?" Ruby asked suddenly.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"If I had a crush on you, what would you do?" Ruby asked, gazing into Weiss's eyes.

Weiss flushed, and stammered out, "I-I... I'd er..."

Ruby laughed, "I was kidding."

"Okay..." Weiss was still looking surprised and embarrassed, with a hint of confusion in the mix.

Ruby kept up her smile. The little lie had shown her something. Weiss's confusion meant Ruby still had a chance, however little it may be. "Thanks Weiss... I needed that talk."

"It's fine. After all, that's what friends are there for, right?"

Ruby nodded, then leaned her head on Weiss's shoulder, closing her eyes.

"Careful, or people will think we _are_ a couple," Weiss said, mirth in her voice, but also a relaxed tone.

"I don't mind. People thinking I'm dating a beautiful heiress doesn't trouble me in the least."

Weiss laughed a little, then went silent. Ruby, eyes tight shut, smiled, glad that the other girl had not objected to the thought.

* * *

"This is a heck of a lot of books," Yang said as she and Blake heaved a stack of books each from the library to the dorm.

"I need Weiss's help to go through a lot of them. She knows a lot more about dust that me." Blake had the lighter load at Yang's insistence. "And I don't think the two of us would make all that much headway by ourselves."

"I'm surprised the library let you take out this many books."

"They know me."

Yang raised an eyebrow at the simple explanation. It did not surprise her that the library staff were familiar with Blake by now, and, given her reading habits, it was likely that Blake would have to go there every day if she only had the regular limit on books taken out if she wanted to sate her appetite for literature.

They reached their room and Yang opened the door, "Hey, Princess, we brought you some..."

She fell quiet as her eyes landed on the two girls in the room. They were lain on Weiss's bed, having slumped in their sleep, falling backwards from where they had sat. They were lying right next to each other, Weiss's arm wrapped around Ruby's shoulders. Ruby's head was tilted, sitting between Weiss's shoulder and her chin, where Weiss's face had turned, as if looking over Ruby's head.

Yang just stared at the pair, as did Blake once she had managed to get past the blonde.

"They're so cute!" Yang exclaimed, trying to control her voice with limited success. "I wonder if Ruby told her..."

"Told her what?" Blake asked as she placed her pile of books at the foot of her bed.

"Well don't say anything if Ruby hasn't, bu~t, Ruby has a thing for a certain ice princess."

"Oh right, that's what you meant."

Yang stated at the catgirl, "You make it sound like you knew."

Blake rolled her eyes. "It was kinda obvious. Though I assumed it was just a childish crush that would vanish..." her eyes turned to the pair on the bed. "But apparently not."

Yang dropped her pile of books, then looked over at the pair again. She wore a smile, but inside, she was worried.

'I hope this all works out...' She could not help but frown to herself as Blake picked up a book and began her search for information.

* * *

A/N: So I thought I'd post this straight away, just to get started. I'll be vaguely trying to update once a week, but it's more going to be when I feel like it. We'll see how it goes.

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Weiss awoke to the smell of flowers.

The soft scent surprised her, and she cracked open her eyes. She realised she was in an odd position, legs bent over the edge of her bed, and a weight on her arm, with another across her stomach. As she blinked her eyes open, her gaze rested on dark red locks of hair. She now recognised the smell, it was the shampoo that Ruby always used.

Weiss looked down at the girl. Ruby had rolled over in her sleep, and her left arm was now draped across Weiss's belly. The memories of their earlier conversation returned to Weiss, and of the hug she had given her team leader, colour tingeing her pale cheeks.

Gently, Weiss removed her arm from under Ruby, and move the arm that was draped over her aside, carefully extracting herself without waking Ruby and standing by the bed. Ruby's arm lay clutching at nothing, and a frown crossed the sleeping face.

"Weiss... where are you?"

The sleep-talking had surprised Weiss. 'She's dreaming about me? How flattering.' Weiss leant over the sleeping girl, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm right here Ruby."

Ruby smiled, and seemed to giggle in her sleep. Weiss stood up straight again, then went to the wardrobe. She needed some clean clothes, her current ones were sticking to her from having been slept in.

"...love..."

Weiss started at the word. Ruby had been muttering something under her breath, but only the one word had caught Weiss's ear. She looked over at the peacefully sleeping girl. 'What was she saying?'

Nothing more left the girl's mouth, and Weiss returned to her task, still somewhat curious about the word. As she found another outfit to wear, she heard movement from behind her, and when she turned around, she saw Ruby sitting up rubbing her eyes.

"Evening," Ruby sleepily said as she saw Weiss.

"Good evening." Weiss glanced at where a set of Ruby's clothes were placed in the wardrobe, and picked them up, placing them next to Ruby on the bed. "I'm going for a shower before dinner. You should at least change."

Ruby nodded, "Gimme a sec, and I'll join you." Weiss nodded, and stood waiting as Ruby sorted herself out.

Ruby was ecstatic. She had just slept with her crush. Okay, not like _that _but it was still awesome. Now they were going for a shower together... she just wished it _were _like that.

The biggest reason she was happy was that Weiss's reaction to Ruby's revelation was about as good as it could have been. Well it could have been better, Weiss could have thrown her arms around Ruby and sworn her undying love to the redhead... although at that point Ruby would have asked who she was, and what she had done with the real Weiss...

To put it simply, Ruby had feared much worse, and expected a much less favourable reaction. The way she had reacted made Ruby feel much better. At the very least she was sure that Weiss would now take any future confessions seriously.

"What're you smiling about?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, nothing much." Ruby tried to stop grinning like an idiot. It was difficult to say the least.

"Well whatever, hurry up."

Ruby did as told, her grin still firmly in place.

* * *

"So how are our sleeping beauties?" Yang asked as Weiss and Ruby joined the blonde and her partner at a table in the canteen.

The only responses were a glare from Weiss, and a mischievous grin from Ruby. Yang was pleased, evidently something had gone right for the pair.

"Man, my little Ruby is all grown up now, she goes shopping with a girl and then sleeps with her."

"Yang!" Weiss's glare intensified.

"Soon they'll be getting married, and have beautiful babies together."

"Shut it!" Weiss said crossly, before deciding to turn her attention to her meal, rather than the most aggravating girl she had ever met.

Ruby was suddenly caught in a daydream of Weiss clutching a little girl, with silver eyes and hair. For some reason, the baby had also inherited Weiss's scar. Ruby decided to make sure that any child of theirs should not have any scars until she was old enough.

Yang noticed Ruby was out of it, and smirked, "What's on your mind Ruby? Maybe the cute babies you and Weiss will have together."

"N-no!" Ruby stammered out. She was glad Weiss had stopped paying any attention to Yang's comments, because she knew exactly how convincing her reply had _not_ been.

Yang would have continued, but a well-time elbow from Blake silenced her. 'Could I not have some fun with this at least, before I lose my little sister,' Yang thought to herself, but kept her thoughts to herself.

Blake gave Yang a glance to make sure the boisterous girl would not continue, then spoke, "Weiss, I had a look through some of the books on dust. Nothing useful I'm afraid, but there are still plenty more upstairs for us to look through. I'm afraid I don't know enough from a practical point of view to really understand some of it though."

Weiss nodded, "Fair enough. We can go through some of it after dinner. I can spend most of tomorrow on it too."

"Don't we have all those assignments to do though?" Ruby asked.

"You mean the ones I did on Thursday evening while you were reading comics and devouring the contents of our cookie jar?" Weiss smiled as the redhead squirmed.

"We~ll..."

"I'll take that as a yes."

Ruby pouted, "You'll help me though, won't you Weiss?"

"Maybe, if you're good, and don't just try to copy my whole essay."

"That was one time!"

"And you almost got both of us in detention for it! Imagine what that would have done to my reputation!"

"The Snow Queen in trouble? That would have been good!" Yang spoke with a bright beaming smile.

Weiss made a mental note to buy sunglasses at the next opportunity. "Yang, do be quiet, some of us are trying to have a half-decent conversation."

"Then you and Blake can be the decent half, and me and Ruby can be the indecent half."

Weiss wished that when she glared daggers at Yang that it were literally so. However, making pieces of sharpened metal fly from her eyes when she was angry was not among her repertoire of skills, so she had to make do with he angriest glower.

* * *

"Well Xin, in spite of getting caught, that went off all right."

The lancer was standing in a well-furnished office, looking at his boss, who sat behind a black wooden desk.

"Though next time, I'd rather not have to bail you out myself."

"Sorry sir, it was my mistake."

"Quite so," the mage replied. He had been the one on the helicopter, whose magic had so thoroughly vexed Weiss. "Unfortunately they may now be on higher alert."

"Are going ahead as planned?"

"Yes, although we will not be performing surveillance on those four tomorrow. It's too big a risk at the moment. The main plan will continue as planned."

"Understood sir!"

Xin did not feel entirely comfortable in his own skin as his boss gave him a scrutinising look. "This time, no mistakes, understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. I'll be pairing you with Eleanor for the mission, so you'll be in charge of the two of you. Don't make me regret my decision."

"Yes sir."

The mage turned to the papers littering his desk, and Xin took it as his cue to leave. He stepped out into the hallway from the office, and sighed with relief. His eyes fell on another person who was walking towards him.

"Oh, Ella, how's it going?"

The blonde woman smiled at him, "Not too bad. Better than someone." Her voice took on a teasing tone. "Having to get bailed out by us."

"You make it sound like you were there."

"I was, who did you think was flying the chopper?"

Xin chuckled. "Okay... well everyone makes mistakes."

"Of course _Major_Hua. Even officers aren't infallible."

"Tell that to the Colonel."

Ella laughed, "I like my extremities the way they are, thanks. You know, attached to my body and all that." She reached to her belt and tapped one of a pair of pistols. "I couldn't use my darlings if he removed my fingers."

"Fair enough. Anyway, you got business with him?" Xin indicated the office door with a tilt of his head.

"Yes, he was going to talk to me about Monday."

"Oh yeah, good news, we're being put together."

Ella raised an eyebrow, "How is that good?"

Xin laughed, "Why so cold and tsundere to me Ella?"

Ella chuckled, and stepped past him. "Anyway, I need to go and talk to him, unless I want the body rearrangement course. You should get back as well."

"Yeah, later."

* * *

"Hurry up Ruby!"

"I'm nearly done!"

Blake and Yang sat on Blake's bed watching as Weiss desperately tried to hurry Ruby along. The two on the bed were fully dressed up, ready to leave, as was Weiss, but Ruby had, perhaps predictably, ended up with five minutes until their car arrived, still barely ready.

"Place your bets, will Weiss die from stress first, or Ruby from a rapier to the gut?" Yang turned to her partner.

Blake sighed, bringing a hand to her face. She was dressed in a long dark purple evening dress, with a small onyx tear-drop gem hanging on a silver chain. A black shawl lay on her shoulders, made out of think material to hide Gambol Shroud which was tied securely onto the inside of the shroud. Black heeled boots were concealed under her dress. She had her hair in two long tails, with bows conveniently placed to hide her ears and hold her hair in place.

"Really Yang, I don't think Weiss's heart or willpower are that weak."

Yang giggled. For once in her life, she was dressed elegantly, or something approximating it at least. She wore a yellow skirt, longer than her normal ones, and white blouse, with a brown, long-sleeved jacket over it, concealing the weapons on her arms. Amethyst encrusted earrings adorned her ears, and a pair of long brown boots completed the outfit. She had neatened her hair a little, though it still kept its general shape, and even Weiss had given up on trying to bring order to something as chaotic as the blonde locks.

Weiss was still furiously trying to sort Ruby out. She had managed to get the girl into her dress, and a pair of red shoes, the same as Weiss's in design, but was now trying to tame the girl's hair and apply make-up, seemingly juggling all the different tools for the jobs at once. Having straightened the girl's hair, she gave in. It would do, it was acceptable, just about, and she did not have the time to make a work of art from the red mess. It was straight, that much was all she could manage.

"How does it take you so long to get ready?" Weiss was exasperated, but Ruby took the fact that the heiress was putting the make-up away as a sign that she was done.

"Sorry..." Ruby muttered. She could not really tell Weiss that the reason she was so slow was that Ruby kept stealing glances at the beautiful figure in white, and ogling her for a few minutes at a time.

Weiss was dressed up to the nines, and Ruby thought she was having a good go at the tens as well. She wore a sleeveless blue dress, similar to Blake's gown but with many more frills. On her left side, just about the hip, the Schnee emblem was emblazoned in white. She pulled on white gloves now that she was done dealing with Ruby. Her shoes were the pair she had Ruby try on. At her next was a silver chain bearing a set of 13 diamond studs, starting with a large one in the centre and getting smaller as they went out. Ruby suspected that the necklace cost almost as much as everything she Yang and Blake were wearing combined.

Weiss gave Ruby a look over as she finished sorting herself. "There's something missing... ah!"

Weiss went over to her jewellery box, from whence the necklace had come, and took out a golden chain. On it hung a ruby, cut in an oval shape. She stepped over to ruby as she undid the clasp on the back. "Here."

Ruby stared at the necklace, "Weiss I can't..."

"You can and will! Besides, I never wear it, gold and rubies don't suit me."

Ruby looked at the necklace bearing her namesake, and sighed. "Fine."

Weiss smiled and wrapped the chain around Ruby's neck, fastening it, then glancing at the clock. "We need to get moving, he'll be here..."

He thoughts were interrupted as her scroll made a ringing noise. Pulling it out, she spoke, "Weiss Schnee here."

"Miss Schnee, the car is ready for you at your convenience."

"Thank you, we will be down presently." She closed up the scroll, then gave everyone one last look-over. Nodding to herself, she placed her scroll in a white handbag, and grabbed her weapon.

Ruby picked up Crescent Rose, and sighed. "Do we really have to give my baby to a guard to look after?" she said, staring sadly at the folded weapon

"I'm afraid so. It's just too difficult to hide, someone would notice. We're barely getting away with Blake's sword." Weiss attached her rapier to her side.

"But you can carry your weapon." Ruby pouted.

"It's expected of me." Weiss's reply did nothing to reduce Ruby's pout. The older girl sighed, "Look, just remember the cookies."

Ruby was suddenly more cheerful, beaming at Weiss. "They'd better be chocolate chip."

"Sure... now let's go."

The 'car' was a black limousine. It had parked at the front of the school, and as Weiss stepped up to it, the other three stopped and stared.

"We're going to a party in a limousine..." Yang stared, a goofy smile forming on her face. "I knew there were perks to being friends with a rich girl."

"Yeah, yeah, now come on you guys," Weiss said as she gave her handbag to the attendant who had appeared from the car, while the driver held the door open.

The four got in, Ruby sadly giving her weapon to the attendant as she passed. They sat on the long couch inside, which would comfortably have held another whole team of huntresses.

"Wow, I really do forget your family is this well-to-do sometimes," Yang commented as the car started and drove quietly away.

"Well let this serve as a reminder," Weiss did not sound all that happy with the comments about how rich her family was, so Yang dropped the topic. This was not a good time to be riling anyone up, even Yang recognised that.

Weiss broke into a smile, "Okay guys, please don't do anything I wouldn't, but do try to have fun."

"But you wouldn't have fun," Yang teased gently. _That _much she was sure the girl could handle.

"Ha ha. But seriously, as long as nothing unfortunate happens, we should just be able to enjoy the evening. Just... please remember your table manners."

"Start from the outside cutlery, work inwards, glasses on the right, and don't start until other people have," Yang parroted in her best Weiss impression.

Weiss glared, but remained silent.

Ruby gave Yang a look saying to knock it off, before putting a hand on Weiss's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll be on extra specially good behaviour!"

Weiss smiled a little, then nodded, "Of course you will."

* * *

They arrived at their destination just on time. The driver opened the door for the four girls, and as they stepped out, three of them stared up at the building before them.

They had noticed the same kind of buildings in Vale, though usually from some distance, never having reason to go to the areas with such grand buildings. It was an old-looking mansion by style, though well-kept, with clean white walls and sparkling glass. A flight of stone steps led up to the front doors, which were large rectangles of glass, and on each was the white Schnee emblem. At each door was a suited man, who checked the invitations of the guests as they entered.

The driver got back into the car and drove it away, as their attendant came up to them, carrying Weiss's bag and Ruby's scythe. "Miss Schnee, they are ready for you inside."

"Very good. Make sure that my partner's weapon is close to hand, just in case."

"Yes Miss."

Weiss glanced at the other girls, "Are you ready?"

Nods from each of them were the only responses, and Weiss drew a deep breath, before leading the way up to the building.

At the sight of Weiss, the doormen opened the doors for the girls, bowing slightly as they entered. While Weiss acted perfectly naturally, the other three girls were very much aware of their situation, and acted it. As they entered a huge hall, they saw a large number of people, all in fine dress, standing in groups talking, as waiters weaved in and out of the gathered guests, giving out glasses of wine and other drinks.

As they entered, a voice, clearly amplified, spoke out about the voices of chit-chat, "Our hostess, Miss Weiss Schnee."

Several people in the room turned to look at the heiress, and a few raised glasses in her direction. She politely smiled at those she noticed, and a waiter appeared, somehow unnoticed by all four girls, and spoke to her. "Miss Schnee, may I get you and your companions drinks?"

"Thanks you, white grape please," the waiter nodded and turned to the others.

Yang was staring at Weiss, "Aren't you under-age?"

Weiss sighed, "Juice!"

"Oh..." Yang was surprised. Weakly she muttered, "Er... orange juice please."

"Blackcurrant," Blake said simply.

"Oh... I dunno... er..." Ruby was going through every drink she could think of, knowing that the Schnees would probably have it. But there were so many, what should she get?

Weiss smirked, "Get her some red grape. Apparently our drinks have to match our clothes," she giggled a little as she spoke.

"Yes Miss, excuse me." The waiter disappeared once more.

"Come on, I'm afraid I need to go and greet a few of the guests," Weiss started walking through the crowd, exchanging the odd pleasantry with guests as she walked. The other three simply followed her, staying quiet, just taking in their surroundings.

"Well this is something," Yang said quietly to her sister.

"Yeah... I know what you mean. Overload much?" Ruby looked around the huge hall. There were a fair number of people, maybe fifty or sixty, mostly in one large group in the middle, with a few small groups at the edge of the room. The hall itself was quite grand, with columns built into the walls, ending in a design of stone leaves where the walls met the ceiling, densest around the columns, but spreading out some way across the ceiling and skirting. There were several paintings hung on the walls, a few of people, most of landscapes: a mountain range with snow-covered peaks, a forest with leaves red in the Autumn and a beach, with the rippling sea spreading out, to name but a few.

Ruby registered that Weiss had stopped moving, and she halted herself before she walked into the heiress. Weiss was speaking to a middle-aged and rather portly gentleman, and Ruby noticed that the smile on the girl's face was genuine, rather than the polite one she had worn since entering the hall.

"Why it feels like only yesterday that your father was telling me of the lovely little baby girl his wife had brought into the world, and look at you now, a proper young lady, and by my understanding a graceful and istinguished warrior too," the man wore a beaming smile on his face.

"Thanks you sir, you are too kind," Weiss was not one to take compliments well normally, thinking that most people just said them to be polite, or to try to garner favour with her, but Ruby could see she was genuinely happy to hear the words of praise.

"How many times must I tell you to call me 'Uncle' like you used to?"

Weiss giggled, "Very well, Uncle."

"Much better." The man turned to the other three girls, who were standing there awkwardly, "But dear me Weiss, where are our manners? Introduce me to your friends here, lest they think we're both terribly rude." Ruby already liked the man. There was mirth in her brown eyes, as well as a deep intellect, and a hint of kindness, just waiting its turn to show.

Weiss nodded, "Of course. Uncle, these are my team-mates Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long and our team leader Ruby Rose." Weiss indicated each girl in turn. "Ladies, this is Hubert Clement, CEO of Vytal Transport, and my father's oldest friend."

"That's oldest, not eldest I'd like you to note," Mr. Clement put in. "I've still got a good few decades in me yet, at least I hope so."

Ruby giggled a little, and Clement turned his smile to her. "Miss Rose right? Team leader, eh? What's it like, having to boss Weiss around? She cause you much trouble?"

"Uncle!"

Ruby smiled, "She did at first, but now she's the best team-mate I could ask for."

"Excellent! Excellent. I'm afraid Weiss has always been a troublesome girl in her own way, but you know, if you've tamed her we all have much to thank you for."

Weiss was flushed as red as Ruby's shawl. Ruby put an arm around her shoulders, and grinned at her 'uncle,' "Don't worry sir! We all look after each other in team RWBY, taming is just one of our duties."

"Ruby, not you too," Weiss looked like she wanted to die, as the other two girls stifled laughs in the background.

"Well well, seems you have a splendid leader here Weiss. You must tell me of your adventures over dinner Miss Rose, I would love to hear of what you all get up to."

"Sure! I... I mean, yes sir," Ruby replied, realising half way through that she had done exactly what Weiss would not have wanted.

"Oh you don't have to worry about formality with me young lady, I remember how stuffy it seemed when I was your age, especially at Eisen's birthday parties."

"Eisen?" Ruby asked.

"My father," Weiss put in quickly. Her good mood seemed a little dampened all of a sudden, but quickly reinstated itself.

"Yes, he never got to have fun for his birthday, always the stuffy parties with all the people we didn't know, who just happened to be the same sort of age and who had fathers that your grandfather knew Weiss. It was a terror, I was only invited because Eisen insisted that his friend be there. But I fear I will talk the whole evening away if you let me. I should let you make the rounds Weiss, I'll see you ladies at dinner, where I do hope you will serenade me with tales of adventure."

He politely bowed, and wandered off to speak to some other acquaintance.

"Nice guy," Yang said as he left earshot.

"Quite, he was very good to me when I was a child."

Yang scoffed, "You still are a child."

"And he's still very good to me."

Weiss turned on her heel, then mentally prepared herself, "Come on, I'm afraid that the other conversations I need to have may be less... enjoyable."

She began traversing the crowd again, the other girls following in her wake.

* * *

Xin and Ella were readying themselves, making checks on their weapons, and suiting up. Both had grey combat jackets on, along with tight-fitting gloves of the same colour, and matching combat trousers. Each had a balaclava in their pockets, opting to wait until necessary to don them.

"You ready?" Xin asked as he finished strapping his weapon to his back.

"Yeah, good to go."

A knocking sounded on the door of the locker-room they were in, and the Colonel entered. The mage was dressed in similar combat gear, though he was in all black. He had a set of pouches on his belt, and a mechanical sword by his side, similar in style to the blade of Crescent Rose.

"Major Hua, Captain Sophia, I came to check you were ready."

"Yes sir!" Xin replied. "We are ready for the moment you say go."

"Good. To confirm, you two will be B team. Captain Galina Day will be in charge of A team, while I will be C team. You know the plan, but make sure there are no mistakes. This is one mission AEGX cannot mess up." He pronounced the name 'Aegis,' their own team-name of sorts.

"Yes sir," both answered.

"I'll see you on the helicopter." The Colonel turned to leave.

"Colonel Krios!" Xin spoke up as the Colonel reached the door.

"Yes?"

"Colonel... no, Aelius... good luck."

Aelius smiled, but did not turn to face the officers, "I don't need luck. Now get moving. It's show-time!"

* * *

A/N: 'Once a week' seems to have turned into 'when I feel like it,' which at the moment seems to be slightly faster. We'll see how long I can keep this up...

As ever, constructive criticism in reviews would be very much appreciated. I'll see you next time.

'Till Eternity Ends

E.D.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

By the time the girls, and all the guests, had sat down for dinner, Weiss looked about ready to stab something. At least, Ruby thought she did, for the heiress kept up a smile that anyone who knew her well would see through in a moment.

They had spent the previous hour going around each of the important guests, with Weiss politely welcoming them, and having the guests' sons introduced to Weiss, with a less-than subtle hint about how Weiss and the boy in question would be a great match. Weiss had been forced to politely suggest that she was too busy with her studies to even consider such a thing at the moment, and quickly move along to another guest.

Fortunately, Weiss was seated at the head of the top table, with Ruby on one side of her, Blake on the other and Yang next to Blake. The three girls being her personal guests meant it was simple to place them next to her. In the seat next to Ruby was Mr. Clement, who intended to make good on Ruby's promise of stories over dinner. Between the four of them, they provided Weiss a much needed shield from the guests who wanted to make her a bride to their child.

Once everyone was seated, Weiss stood and gave a brief speech, with thanks, from herself, her father and the company, and a few other formalities. The other girls feigned interest, but only because all eyes were turned in their general direction. However even Ruby, who normally could have listened to Weiss speak for hours and who found her voice dreamy, was having trouble paying any attention. These clearly were not Weiss's feelings, or her words, but she was playing the part she had been given, and at least for the moment that part was a simple, if dull, task.

Once she had finished eating, the waiters came and brought the first course, soup, and the dinner began.

Ruby could not remember eating a nicer meal in a long time. She also could not remember what half of the dishes were called, but that did not reduce her enjoyment. She only wished that table manners were not so strictly enforced: it was irritating having to eat slowly, trying to emulate the dainty fashion with which Weiss ate. She was not attracting any odd looks, which she took to be a good sign. Her stories of the team's adventures also helped her pace herself, though she kept almost slipping into slang, and had to stop herself from doing sound effects once of twice. It really was a chore, and Ruby wondered how Weiss had not gone insane from it all. Well, more insane than she was.

There was one rather awkward moment when, after Ruby finish a story of a particularly brilliant exploit, Mr. Clement said that Ruby's parents "Must be very proud of you."

Ruby had just frozen up at that point, and Yang looked as though she had been slapped round the face with the fish they were eating. Mr. Clement, for his part, immediately realised that was not a thing he should have said, and quickly changed the subject, asking another detail about life as a huntress, which brought Ruby back to her normal self, but she spent the next course of the meal with Weiss's worried stare on the back of her head.

Desert was brought, and swiftly dispatched, along with the offer of coffee, then Weiss gave another brief speech, before everyone was invited to begin their journey to the plant for the opening ceremony. As the girls made their way out, Weiss was stopped by her uncle, and the other girls went ahead.

"Weiss... I just wanted to apologise if I... upset Miss Rose. It should have occurred to me... her mother _was_ Summer Rose, right?"

Weiss was surprised, "Y-yes, I believe that was her name."

"Terrible affair, terrible... that poor girl. I'm really sorry... a huntress with a scythe, and with the name Rose... how stupid of me..."

Weiss was confused. She knew Ruby's mother had passed away, but what confused her was how her uncle knew.

Her confusion must have shown, as Mr. Clement gave her an odd look. "Weiss... you do know what happened, right?"

She shook her head, "Ruby doesn't talk about her parents, neither does Yang for that matter."

"Her name was Long right? They'd be half-sisters then?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

Mr. Clement looked thoughtful, then shook his head, "Sorry, this is not for me to say. If you two are as close as you appear, then I'd wager she'll tell you herself one day. All I will say is that it's to do with why those sisters share a father, but not a last name."

He nodded a goodbye to Weiss, then set off for his own car, leaving Weiss bemused. She had always wondered about that little detail, but simply assumed that the girls took their mothers' names. It was 'normal' for a woman to take her husband's name upon marriage, but not required, and most children used their mother's name whether she had changed it or not. She had found it odd, but not _that_ odd.

Now it seemed like the strangest thing in the world.

She shook herself. She needed to go now, and perform her duties. She could worry about this later.

* * *

The dust plant itself was a lot less grand than the HQ, though that was only natural. The entrance hall where the opening was taking place had been done-up, but that only did so much to make it look nice. This was a place built for functionality, with lifts, not staircases, and flat, metal walls, not stone, and not the least hint of decoration built-in.

Around the top of the hall was a gangway, with doors leading off to various parts of the plant, and currently a podium was set up for speakers to address the gather guests and press. In addition to the guests who had been at the dinner, there were around thirty reporters, and a number of factory officials, along with a few specially selected workers. The girls had noticed, but not mentioned, the lack of faunus workers, in spite of the number of faunus who did work in the plant. They all knew it was the case, and they all knew that they all knew. Bringing it up now would just make things uncomfortable.

Yang and Blake, along with the rest of the assembled crowds, were on the ground floor, looking up, while Weiss had managed to get her partner a spot on the upper area, on the pretence of needing her assistance, in reality just preferring to be with someone she knew properly.

In addition, the girls could not help but notice a large number of guards, clearly armed though they did not have their weapons bared. Everyone knew their purpose, but again nobody mentioned it. Another thing to add to the list of awkward topics they needed to avoid.

Eventually, the event began, with Weiss beginning by once again welcoming everyone, and thanking them for coming. As she continued, Ruby began to drift off. She was lucky enough to get a chair, and nobody was paying her any attention this time, so she just daydreamed, with Weiss's pretty voice the perfect backdrop for her thoughts.

It was only when Weiss's voice halted that she noticed something was wrong.

The microphone had cut, and at the same time the lights. The sudden quiet and darkness surprised everyone. Weiss turned to one of the men behind her, "What is going on?"

The man had taken out a radio, and was speaking, "Report! What's happening? Come in!"

Ruby glanced to the attendant from earlier, who had followed her and Weiss up. Crescent Rose was placed in her hands, and she stood, moving over to Weiss's side. "Looks like that 'something' went wrong."

Weiss nodded. She gripped her sword, but waited to draw it. Ruby kept her finger on the button that would unfold her scythe, scanning for any sign of an enemy.

The security troops were standing ready, knowing what could be happening, and the huntresses were equally alert, looking for any sign of an attack coming.

What they did not expect was for their enemy to walk right in the front door.

The entrance doors were thrown open, and two figures burst into the room, disabling several guards with their guns before the guards could even draw their weapons. Both were in grey combat gear, with their faces covered by balaclavas. One carried a rifle, the other a pair of pistols, both using them with deadly efficiency.

The man with the radio finally got his response, but looked pale. "Miss Schnee, there's another attack, near the refinery."

"They're after our tech... but the workers..." Weiss muttered. "Ruby, we need to get down there"

"Right on it Princess." Ruby lifted Weiss into her arms, having already lowered her heels, and stepped up to the barrier of the gangway. "Give me some glyphs." Weiss complied, and Ruby leaped over the barrier, jumping from glyph to glyph, making her way to the ground in moments.

Yang and Blake were already facing off against the attackers, weapons at the ready. Ruby placed Weiss down, then activated Crescent Rose, the scythe opening up to its full size. By her side, Weiss drew her blade. The crowd behind them were pressing back to the walls, away from the fighters.

The man with the rifle hit a button and it became a spear, Weiss and Ruby simultaneously realising that this was the man who had fled from them before. But there was no sign of the mage. The second attacker was quite clearly female, so that meant...

"The mage is with the second squad... Ruby we need to go stop him."

Ruby nodded, then looked to her two team-mates. "You guys think you can handle them?"

"Think? Ruby sweetie, don't worry about us." Yang smiled as she hurled herself at the spearman.

Ruby nodded, then turned to Weiss, "Which way?"

"Follow me!" Weiss led Ruby out of the hall, through a door at the side.

The spearman ducked aside as Yang's fist passed his jaw, and he struck her in the back of the head as she passed, sending her careening towards the entrance. Yang turned and dug her heels in, while a ting of red tainted the purple of her eyes.

Blake had created a clone, and both of her leaped at the other attacker, who opened fire, striking the clone. Blake just managed to dodge so that the bullet missed her head, though it tore through one of her bows, leaving an exposed ear.

As the faunus struck out with her blade, it was met by a transfigured gun, which was now a long knife. The other pistol was still in the same shape, and she fired another shot, this time at Blake's chest.

Yang and the spearman were now exchanging blows, and flames were rippling off Yang's fists as she kept hurling them at her opponent. He dodged most of them, but each time Yang got a hit in it did considerable damage, while the damage she was taking only made her stronger.

Yang saw an opening, and took it, hurling her right fist right at the man's face.

Her fist met only air.

The man had leaped into the air, easily jumping far beyond the limits of an aura-enhanced jump. As Yang's eyes turned skyward, she saw him now coming down far faster than she thought he should be.

"Well shit..."

Rather than the expected spear point, the only thing to strike her head was a hand. The man placed his hand squarely on Yang's head, and she felt an enormous weight on her head. The man flipped off her, landing behind her, and she realised that the weight was not on her head, it was her head.

Her entire body, starting from the point she was touched and seeping downward, started to feel far heavier than normal. By the time it reached her chest she could no longer stand, collapsing to the ground, holding herself up with her arms.

"What... the heck?" Yang attempted to raise her gaze, as the man walked around her to stand in front of her.

"It'll wear off in a while, but I don't think you'll be going anywhere until then." Yang collapsed under the weight of her body, unable to hold herself up at all. Her foe turned to where his companion was still fighting Blake.

Blake had seen Yang go down, and was now desperately trying to deal with her own enemy before she was forced into a two versus one fight. She struck once more, but another flash of a dust bullet being fired forced her to duck back, avoiding the bullet. The knife in her opponent's hand turned back into a pistol, and she opened fire with both weapons, Blake having to move as fast as she could to avoid the shots. Even performing her best acrobatics, she still took a couple of the shots, making her aura wane.

Cries from behind her sounded out, as members of the crowd were hit by stray shots. Yet another reason to end this fast.

Blake rushed at the woman, when another shot rang out, and her target crumpled. Blake skidded to a halt, and she and the spearman both looked around at the source of the shot: one of the guards, who had managed to avoid severe injury from the initial attack.

Both of the fighters stared at him, and he shrugged, "Hey, we're not completely useless. Just 'cause not everyone wears distinctive clothing, doesn't mean we can't shoot a gun."

Neither could argue, so they turned to face each other. The intruder shrugged, "Well miss, I have a suggestion. I want to get my partner to safety, you want to check on yours, call it quits?"

Blake and he very slowly walked, while still facing each other, to their respective partners, lowering their weapons. The man picked up his friend, and her guns, then legged it out the front door. Blake knelt by Yang's side, where the blonde was cursing in every way she knew how.

"Yang, you all right?"

"I can't lift myself at all, and feel like there's an ursa major on my back, but otherwise fine."

Blake tried to help the girl up, but when Blake tried to heave her partner up, she found she simply could not. The girl weighed a ton, probably literally Blake thought. "Urgh... what did he do to you?"

"No idea."

Blake frowned, then looked at the soldier from before, "Hey!"

The soldier stepped up, "Yes?"

"What's your name?"

"Bill."

"Right, well Bill, could you look after my friend here... and everyone else for that matter, while I go and check how things are going further in."

"Yes miss."

Blake stood, and headed in the direction that Weiss and Ruby had run in. The spear guy had given up too easily, something was wrong...

* * *

Weiss and Ruby rushed through the plant. Weiss was pretty sure they were almost there, having just entered a long corridor, with the door at the end being their target, at least she thought it was.

"It's just up ahead, behind that..." a glint of light flashed past her eye, bright red. "DOWN!"

The huntresses hit the ground as a flaming explosion roared up behind them. Both rolled to their feet, back to back, looking for their attacker, Weiss raising her blade as Ruby prepared to shoot.

A figure leaped from a shadow towards Weiss, who threw up a sigil as Ruby heard the motion and spun around to Weiss's side. The barrier protecting them, Ruby opened fire. The figure moved faster than their eyes could follow, as a yellow glow surrounded him, creating a strange blur of light around him.

Amidst the golden glow, Weiss caught a shimmer of purple. "Dust!"

At the girls' feet, a circle of purple light shone, and the two leaped away as bolts of lightning shot from the circle, carving arcs up to the ceiling. The electricity rippled along the metal corridor, but dispersed before it could do anything of significance. But for the girls, the damage was done.

Weiss had not been able to keep the barrier up, allowing the mage to rush at them, still moving too fast for them to get a steady view of him. Sword drawn, he charged at Weiss, who was in no position to defend herself.

Ruby's scythe block the sword as it carved an arc towards Weiss. "Weiss, you okay?" Ruby spun her weapon, pushing the sword away.

"Yeah... thank you."

Weiss pulled herself up and got into her fencing stance. The narrow corridor favoured her style and maximised the defensive potential of her glyphs, but hampered Ruby considerably, as there was no room to swing Crescent Rose, and high speed was near-useless in such confined conditions without similarly good mobility.

There was barely enough room for the two to stand next to each other, so Weiss stayed a little way behind Ruby, knowing that if they were too close it would make it even harder for Ruby to swing her weapon. She set her weapon to light blue dust, allowing frost to gather around the blade, as their enemy rushed at Ruby once more.

She swung her blade around to meet his, but met only air. "What the...?" He had somehow shifted from her left to her right. It was not that he had moved really fast, there was not even a blur, he seemed to have literally teleported. Not only that, but the downward slash that he had been performing had changed to a side-strike.

Ruby tried to move in time, but the blade cut into her side. It was a dead-on hit that even her aura had trouble shielding her from. It was a deep cut, but her aura managed to patch it up, though as it did so, Ruby was pushed aside, as the mage leaped at Weiss, carrying on with the momentum of his charge.

Weiss readied herself, and struck out at him, freezing air surrounding her rapier, ready to freeze her foe. Her blade pierced air where the man's chest had just been, and she stumbled forwards. Once again he seemed to have vanished, but now he was somewhere out of her vision.

"Weiss, look out!"

Weiss turned as Ruby shouted, both girls staring at the blade, wreathed in flame, that was about to come down on Weiss from behind.

Red was all that Weiss could see. There had been no time to block, no time to protect herself, no time to summon even the simplest of glyphs, she was not fast enough.

But Ruby had been.

Ruby collapsed backwards, as a shower of Rose petals fell around her. One burst of speed had got her in front of Weiss just as the blade fell. It had been a powerful blow, and the flames had scorched her as the blade left a huge gash in her chest, her weakened aura unable to prevent the blow at all. It had cut down from her shoulder to the side of her sternum, and she was sure a few of her ribs had snapped under the force. But Weiss was safe at least. Ruby smiled as soft arms caught her as she fell, Weiss holding her, as Myrtenaster clanged to the floor beside Crescent Rose.

"Weiss... you... okay?" Ruby sputtered out.

"You idiot! How could you do that?" Weiss shook as she looked up at the man who had done this. She could not see his face, with was covered by a balaclava, but she wanted to remember his stance, his weapon, anything to identify the man who had hurt her partner so badly. He had now lowered his blade, and the glow around him had faded. He looked down at his handiwork, then stepped past where Weiss clutched Ruby, and headed further inwards.

As he neared the door, a ping sounded, and he picked up a radio at his side. He listened to a static-filled voice, then spoke calmly, "Very good, all units are to retreat, the mission is accomplished, see you back at HQ." He glanced back at the girls, then left the corridor.

Weiss's attention was now wholly taken up by Ruby. The redhead was in a severe state, her aura weakened beyond the point of healing her. At the very least the flames had cauterised the wound, so there was relatively little bleeding, though the flames had still done considerable immediate damage. Ruby's flash was slightly blackened around the wound, and she seemed close to passing out.

"Ruby! Stay with me, I'm going to get you to a doctor, just stay awake."

"Weiss... I..."

Weiss put her arms under Ruby, and heaved the girl up into her arms. It was difficult for Weiss, who was not exactly strong. Ruby was heavy from all the muscle she had from swinging her scythe around, and while Weiss was stronger than most girls her age, she could never compare to her team-mates. But whether it was desperation or just sheer will-power, Weiss managed to carry her partner, lifting her up princess style, and making her slow way towards the front hall. She had to get there, and get help.

"Weiss... I... have to tell you something... before I..."

"Ruby, stop making it sound like you aren't getting another chance you dolt!" Weiss shouted as she heaved her way through the hallways, through the opened doors they had flung open when they went there. "I'm going to get you help, and you're going to get better, then you can tell me whatever the Hell it is that's so important, but right now, I'm not going to listen to anything, so you'd better keep yourself alive long enough to tell me whatever it is, you got that?"

Ruby weakly nodded, "I'll do that... but you'd... better promise... you'll listen."

"I'll sit with you and listen 'til you're done, whatever it is, once you're better, you got that? So don't go dying on me yet Ruby Rose!"

Ruby remembered why she fell in love with the girl who was carrying her. Now that they were friends, Weiss would never leave her behind. The heiress had few friends, but treasured the ones she had far more than she would ever admit. Behind all that ice was a heart of gold. And her partner's words had given her just the right amount of determination to survive. She was going to live, and she was going to tell Weiss how she felt. A little cut like this would not be the end of Ruby Rose.

Ruby's lack of response started to worry Weiss, who glanced down to see the girl had fallen unconscious. Weiss's worry intensified, but so did her determination, she would get the girl to help. Ahead of her, the sounds of feet on metal sounded, and she saw Blake running towards her. Blake's golden eyes went wide when she saw Ruby.

* * *

Weiss would never remember what happened for a few hours beyond that point. She vaguely recalled Blake summoning a clone, and the two copies of the faunus lifting Ruby out of Weiss's arms and hurrying her to a doctor. There was ride in an ambulance, at least Weiss thought so, with her sitting by Ruby's side, Weiss's hand clutching her partner's. That feeling she remembered, the warmth that told her Ruby was still fighting. Then there was the hours where she was separated from Ruby. A doctor did a check-up on Weiss, but she was fine, her aura had absorbed the damage she had taken.

The next thing that Weiss really remembered was sitting in a waiting room with Yang. Blake had stayed behind, explaining things to the police, having seen that Weiss was in no state to do that, and that Weiss and Yang needed to be with their partner and sister.

Yang for her part was parts angry, sorrowful and thankful. One of those emotions stemmed from her sister's condition, the other from the white-haired girl sitting next to her.

Weiss had told them what happened, still seeming to be in a daze. Yang knew why Ruby had thrown herself between Weiss and the blade, she knew that if she had not then it would be Ruby sobbing here and Weiss on the operating table right now, and Yang knew that Ruby could never have forgiven herself.

But Yang would still rather it had been that way round.

It was not that she wanted Weiss to be injured, but Yang mainly wanted her sister to be safe. In Yang's mind, Ruby's safety was just a little more important than her happiness: as long as she was safe, the girl could become happy. For causing her sister to be injured, Yang was so angry she wanted to punch Weiss. It was her stupid event and her not keeping an eye on her enemy that meant that Ruby was so close to being gone.

The only reasons she had not beaten Weiss to death yet was that Weiss had done everything in her power to save Ruby.

Yang never would have thought Weiss could lift Ruby, let alone carry her down several corridors. The effort had made Weiss pretty much collapse, but she only let go of Ruby when Blake arrived. For that, Yang was grateful. Then there was the way Weiss had been since they got Ruby to the ambulance. All the way there, Weiss had clutched at Ruby's hand, begging the unconscious girl to be all right, to pull through, to keep some promise, and all the way to the hospital, and all the while they were sitting here waiting, she could see Weiss blaming herself.

Weiss always knew when something was actually her fault. She acted like she did not, but she always knew deep down. She was currently blaming herself for everything she did wrong, from inviting them all in the first place to losing vision on her opponent in the fight. She was tearing herself apart on the inside, and Yang could see it. She did not need Yang to beat her up, Weiss was doing that well enough by herself.

Both girls were torn from their thoughts by a nurse entering the room. "Miss Yang Xiao Long?"

"Yes?" Yang stood, anxiety showing on her face.

The nurse smiled, and waves of relief washed over the two girls. "Your sister is out of the operating room. The operation was a complete success."

Yang collapsed back in her seat, the relief too much for her. Weiss could not help but smile brightly, overjoyed that her partner would be okay.

The nurse left them, saying they would need to wait a little while until the doctors had finished setting up Ruby's room, but it would not be long until they could see her. Yang just stared forward, unable to focus on anything. Finally the exhaustion of the day hit her, now that she did not have to be worried any longer.

Weiss for her part was equally relieved, but finally felt that she could engage with the situation. She had been out-of-it for hours now, and finally the good news had brought her back. She stood, and headed for the door.

"Where're you off to?" Yang asked as she reached for the door handle.

"I was going to call Blake, and tell her the good news."

Yang stood, and walked over, "Let me... I should go home anyway, I'm way too tired, I need some shut-eye."

Weiss stared at her, "But Ruby..."

"Will be able to survive without me until tomorrow." Yang smiled a little, though Weiss could tell it was a little forced.

Yang did not add what she was thinking. 'She can't survive without you.'

* * *

Weiss was led into a private room by a nurse, who was explaining things to her. "Miss Rose should wake up soon enough, though she was given some anaesthetic in the operating theatre so don't be alarmed if it takes a little while. When she wakes, please call for us." Weiss was glad to hear the word 'when' not 'if.'

She half-listened as she looked down at the bed where Ruby lay. A few wires trailed to nearby machines, but as far as Weiss could tell they were only monitoring her, Ruby was breathing normally and the doctors thought she would wake soon enough that no other devices needed to be used. Ruby's arms lay on top of the sheets. Weiss sat next to the bed, smiling softly down at the girl.

The nurse left, and Weiss was alone with the sleeping Ruby. Looking down at her from so close, Weiss could see the tip of the injury, now stitched up, just showing above her hospital gown. The slow rise and fall of her chest and the bleeping of the heart-rate monitor in the background almost brought Weiss to tears of joy. She had been so very afraid of losing her best friend that now that the danger had passed, and she was right in front of Ruby, who was sleeping so very peacefully, she was beside herself with joy.

She just sat there, watching Ruby's chest move, until the tiredness that she had been trying to ignore finally caught up to her, and she fell asleep, her head falling down by Ruby's side.

* * *

A/N: These chapters just keep getting longer... not that I imagine you guys are complaining. Again, it's been a little less than a week, but I've already written half of the next chapter as well, so I thought I may as well post this. As ever, if you have any criticisms, feel free to tell me, I'm writing this as much to practice and find what people do and don't like about my writing style as anything else, and while it's nice to have people just say "It's really good," it's not necessarily as helpful as having someone giving a proper critique. That said, all comments are more than welcome.

'Till Eternity Ends

E.D.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Weiss awoke to a hand running through her hair, and she realised the position she was in. She had slumped forward onto the bed, a very improper position for one of her status. As her eyes fluttered open she realised she was staring down towards the foot of the bed, and glancing at the clock and at the window, she saw it was about three o'clock in the morning. The hand in her hair continued its movements, and Weiss sat up slowly, hoping that the hand belonged to whom she thought it did.

Her eyes met Ruby's silver ones. She was smiling brightly at Weiss. "Hey sleeping beauty."

Weiss took one look at the girl and then threw her arms around her. Ruby, surprised that Weiss would hug anyone, awkwardly returned the gesture.

"Never do anything that stupid ever again," Weiss said, scoldingly but gently.

"I'll try not to. If I'm about to, stop me, won't you?"

Weiss was about to say 'I won't always be there to stop you,' but somehow that thought seemed unpleasant, so she bit back the comment. "Sure, I'll do my best."

The two held each other for a little longer, before Weiss released Ruby, and sat back. "We should call the nurses, they'll want to check on you."

Ruby nodded, and let Weiss press the call button, and talk to the nurses briefly. Shortly thereafter, two nurses and a doctor, all female, arrived and asked Weiss to wait outside.

While she was waiting, Weiss was thinking. Up until now, she had not had much time to do so, but now she wanted answers. There were the obvious questions to do with the attack, but those were not on her mind. She wanted to know two things. First, what did Ruby want to tell her? Second, why was it so hard for her to say that she and Ruby might not always be together? The first she could not guess, and would find out soon enough, but the second, that was a more concerning matter.

The mere thought of not being with Ruby hurt. Yes, Ruby was the closest friend ever, and being permanently unable to see her would be upsetting, but now Weiss suddenly realised she did not want to spend even a single day without Ruby. Maybe it was because they spent so much time together now, with most of the same classes, and spending much of their free time together, as well, or course, as sharing a dorm. She just could not imagine being away from the other girl for any length of time. But the same could be said of Blake and Yang, why was it only Ruby who had this effect?

The nurses came out, followed by the doctor, who spoke to Weiss, "You can go back in. Miss Rose should be fine, but don't hesitate to call if anything happens."

Weiss nodded, and entered. Ruby was now sat up on the edge of the bed, and smiled at Weiss as she entered.

"So, how are you feeling?" Weiss asked as she took her seat.

"Fine. The wound hurts a little, but they gave me some painkillers, so it's not too bad. Oh... I'm afraid my dress got ruined, we'll have to go buy another some time."

Weiss raised a brow, "Don't worry about the dress, we can easily replace it. Replacing you would be a lot harder, impossible even."

"I dunno, maybe you could put my brain in a robot body, that'd be awesome, then I could be all powerful and fast, and I'd be easy to repair," Ruby joked.

"Ruby Rose, you are not making yourself into a cyborg! Imagining trying to deal with a metal you is... urgh..."

Ruby laughed at Weiss's exasperation. "Well we won't have to at least, cool as it would be."

Weiss's face brightened up a little, and the two fell into silence. It was not uncomfortable, though both knew what the next thing on the agenda was. Ruby had promised to survive and tell Weiss the 'something' she needed to, but Weiss was a little scared to ask, and Ruby was very scared to say.

"So..." Weiss eventually began, "you have a promise to keep."

Ruby nodded, but did not speak. She was trying to find the right words, but she was struggling. Weiss could see the girl was having trouble, and place a hand on her shoulder, leaning slightly closer as a result. "Come on, it's fine. Whatever it is, I'll listen."

"You won't laugh?"

"No."

"You won't storm out?"

"Of course not... why would I?"

"Whatever it is, you'll stay with me?"

"Of course." Weiss had to catch herself. She had nearly said 'always.'

"Okay, Weiss," Ruby looked up, and her silver eyes stared into blue ones. "Weiss... for a while now, I've... I've..."

Realisation dawned on Weiss. The truth that came out the other day. That was not all to it, was it? Ruby would have been a little worried about revealing her sexuality, but there was something much bigger, something she had not been able to tell Weiss. Specifically Weiss.

"I've been in love with you."

Weiss blinked. Then once more. What was this feeling? Well mainly... surprise.

What else? There were other feelings mixed in. It was confusing for Weiss, the swirling emotions. To hear those words certainly made her happy. To be loved was a good feeling. But there was also the worry. How should she respond? Weiss was not in love with Ruby, but turning the girl down seemed wrong to her. She could not tell why, but quite apart from it upsetting Ruby if she rejected her, Weiss did not want to turn Ruby down for her own sake as well.

Weiss's own thoughts were interrupted when she focused on Ruby again. The poor girl looked close to tears, her eyes full of fear, terrified of rejection most likely. But also, Weiss finally knew what the other emotion in her gaze was: love. Weiss had recently been unable to place something in Ruby's looks, whenever the girl's gaze was directed at her. But now it was clear as day, an innocent, bountiful love for her. Weiss was certain that this was Ruby's first confession, and that the younger girl's feelings were far more than a crush. There was no way Weiss could not be touched by the feelings.

Ruby was now staring down, avoiding Weiss's gaze, when she felt arms wrap around her, and Weiss drew closer.

"Ruby... I can't say I love you the way I know you love me, but I know that I might, given time." Weiss held the redhead gently but firmly, not wanting to let the other girl go. "At the very least, I want to give _us_ a shot, okay?"

"Yeah..." Ruby spoke softly, so that Weiss could barely hear her.

Weiss smiled a little, then drew back, so that she and Ruby faced each other once again. "So, you should work out where we're going for our first date once you're out of here, okay? It'll be my treat, you choose where we go."

Ruby nodded, and a smile formed on her face, though she looked rather dazed. Weiss knew that the girl's surprise would soon be replaced by excitement.

Weiss removed her hands from Ruby's shoulders, and yawned. She had forgotten briefly that she had been woken up at such a strange time. "Right now though, you need rest, and I need sleep."

Ruby protested a little, but Weiss persuaded her that rest was what was needed now, and Weiss went to turn off the light. She returned to her seat, with nowhere better to sleep.

"Weiss... there's plenty of room if you want to lie down," Ruby looked a little sheepish, knowing how it sounded after her confession.

Weiss blushed though the low light hid her colour from Ruby. Weiss sat herself on the side of the bed, and Ruby moved over. Weiss lay down, on top of the covers, facing Ruby, who turned to face her.

"Weiss... can I be really demanding, and... can you hold my hand?"

Weiss reached out and took Ruby's hand, holding it gently in her own. "Here you go. Now go to sleep, you need to rest up so you can get better."

Ruby nodded, and closed her eyes. She gripped Weiss's hand tightly, though not painfully so, and after a few minutes Weiss saw her body relax as the girl fell asleep.

'That was all so out-of-character for you Weiss,' she thought to herself, but smiled even as she did. 'No it wasn't... I always wanted to be with someone, and Ruby's given me this chance.' Weiss shut her eyes, but even then, the warmth of Ruby's hand reminded her that the girl was there, right beside her.

'This is... nice,' Weiss thought as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning was awkward for Weiss and Ruby. They had woken to find Yang and Blake standing over them, while the pair of them were still holding hands. Yang looked less than happy as they explained that they were a couple now, of sorts, while Blake seemed surprised but accepting.

It was a little while later when Weiss stood, saying she was going to get some coffee and Yang said she would go too with a seriously edge to her voice that Weiss knew that the first big problem for her and Ruby would arise. Dealing with in-laws was famously dangerous, dealing with one who was quite capable of beating the heiress to a pulp was even more so.

The two walked towards the hospital's café, and the pair ordered themselves some drinks. They sat down across a table from one another, and stayed there in silence for a few minutes.

Finally, Yang broke the silence. "So she confessed to you?"

Weiss nodded. "I take it she told you about her feelings?"

"Yeah... she did." Yang sipped her tea slowly, giving herself time to find what she wanted to say. "Weiss, I want to make one thing clear. I respect you as a fighter, and as one of the smartest people I know. But if you hurt my sister, I'll hurt you just as much."

Weiss nodded. "I expected no less. If I hurt Ruby, I am quite happy for you to hurt me a hundred times as much." The look in her eyes told Yang that she was dead serious.

"I'll hold you to that," Yang replied.

Silence fell once more, until Yang spoke again. "Do you love her?"

Weiss sipped her coffee, using the same tactic as Yang to give herself time to think. Elegantly placing the cup down, she replied, "I can't say I love her. But what I can say is I think I will, if given a little time. You know I have trouble with relationships, and by that I mean any relationship to any other person. I've managed to lower my guard around you guys, but even so, I don't know my own emotions too well."

Weiss gave a sorrowful smile, "If I can't fall truly in love with Ruby, I don't think I'll ever love anyone."

"Then you'd better fall in love with her, and look after her 'til the day you die, you got that? It's your turn to protect her, so you'd better do a better job than I have, and a far better job than you managed yesterday."

The scathing remark did nothing to upset Weiss, she knew it was only the truth of the matter that she had failed Ruby, but she would do her utmost to look after the girl.

Yang stood, her cup drained. "I'll go get another, and Blake's. You get yours when you're ready, and your girlfriend's." Weiss was surprised at the comment, but when she looked up at Yang, the blonde was giving her a smile.

Weiss nodded, and finished her cup, following the blonde to the counter. 'Girlfriend.' Weiss could not help but grin at the thought of that.

* * *

Colonel Aelius was sat in front of a machine which lay on his desk. The small device, conical in shape, with a metal tube at the pointed end, was the new extractor which the Schnee company was to have revealed.

At least, that was what it was supposed to be.

"A dud... I'm not in the least surprised," Aelius said, looking up at the three other figures in the room: Xin, Eleanor and another woman. Eleanor had a bandage around her head where she had been shot.

"I apologise sir, we should have examined it more closely," the second woman said. She had a darker complexion that the other three, with olive skin and dark hair.

"It's fine Galina," Aelius said. "The main objective was achieved regardless, as was the tertiary objective. It's a pity that this happened, but I thought they might do something like this."

"With regards to that Aelius... I had to use my semblance again, so they may well have worked out how it works," Xin said.

Aelius nodded, "I also had to use my own, though they will likely still be a little confused by exactly how it works. It was unavoidable though. Eventually we were going to have to use our semblances. While they may still not be polished, those girls are very talented, and they have powerful semblances. We needed to fight with our own, it's only natural."

"So what now?" Eleanor asked. "Do we just sit tight and wait for the project to finish?"

Aelius pondered the question a while before answering. "For the moment we should all get some rest. We've bought ourselves plenty of time for now."

* * *

Team RWBY were still all crowded in Ruby's hospital room, Weiss looking over a report as the other three waited in silence.

"21 injured, only a single fatality... that was relatively lucky." Weiss paused as she read the name of the deceased. "Though that's an irritating spanner in the works for the company."

"How so?" Blake asked.

"The man who died, Simon Hawk, was an experienced vein-finder. He was due to lead a team to examine a new potential site next week. It's a pity..." Weiss frowned.

"Yeah... it was stray bullet I'm told. While she was fighting me, that woman with the guns hit some of the crowd behind me..." Blake felt upset. On the one hand, if she had not dodged, she may well have died, but on the other...

Yang patted her partner on the back. "You did your best, it was just unfortunate."

Blake nodded, trying not to let it trouble her.

"So they stole a fake machine? Even I didn't know that the company had taken that precaution," Weiss muttered as she read on. "There were about ten people in the other squad, plus the guy we fought..."

"Speaking of that," Blake put in, "there was something interesting about him."

"Oh what?" Weiss asked.

Blake took out her scroll, and tapped the screen a few time. "I got a look at the security footage of your fight, and this showed up." She held the scroll so that the rest of her team could view it.

The fight played out much as Weiss and Ruby remembered it, up until the point where the mage had seemed to teleport. At that moment, both Ruby and Weiss froze, stock still, not even a twitch. The man then repositioned himself, and began his charge again. Ruby and Weiss both started moving again as he slashed at Ruby.

The same thing happened when he attacked Weiss. As Weiss thrust her rapier at him, she froze, and the man stepped past her, taking a position behind her before Weiss moved once more, finishing her strike on the empty air.

The three girls stared at Blake when the video was finished. "To confirm, the camera's timestamp checks out, and nobody else in the building seemed to be affected," Blake said.

"So then, he managed to make us, like freeze in place?" Ruby asked.

"More than that, neither of us saw him move, it's like he froze time," Weiss said. "Or rather, our perception of it."

Blake nodded. "This is presumably his semblance: altering others' perception of time."

"That's crazy, how're you meant to fight someone like that?" Yang asked. "I'd never be able to get a punch in."

"He can stop a person, but not an object. Notice how Weiss's clothes fall to rest even after she's stopped moving? If something is moving free from human intervention, he doesn't seem to be able to affect it," Blake explained. "He would be unable, for example, to stop a bullet. Also, given that he did not use it in the helicopter chase Ruby and Weiss went on, I'd wager it's fairly short range."

"What about the others?" Weiss asked. "Did you two figure out either of their semblances?"

"I'm not 100% sure, but the spear guy seems to be able to manipulate gravity," Blake replied. "He jumped as if he weighed nothing, and made Yang weigh so much that neither she nor I could lift her."

"It's hard for a lady to have self-confidence when they think they might be fat from something like that." Yang spoke in a sorrowful tone.

"Harr. Harr. Harr" Weiss glowered at Yang, then turned back to Blake. "So I take it you don't know about the woman?"

Blake shook her head, "If she used it, I didn't notice."

Weiss sighed, "Oh well, at least we know a little bit more about them. I've got our people looking into who they are. This is definitely company business now. I'll let you know if they find anything."

Blake nodded, then glance at the clock. "Yang, we should get going."

Yang nodded, resignedly, standing up. "Well sis, you'd better hurry up and get out of here. We can't have you missing too much."

When Weiss stood as well, Yang laughed a little, "Where do you think you're going princess? You're staying with Ruby to look after her."

"But..." Weiss was about to protest. She had lessons, and...

"I know what you're thinking. We already cleared everything up with Ozpin. He actually said you should stay with Rubes. What'd he say again? 'It is at times like these that partners need to be together most, to support each other in their time of greatest need.'" Yang did a surprisingly good Ozpin impression, which made Ruby giggle.

"But in all seriousness, he said you were excused until Ruby was out of hospital. Me and Blake though, we only got today off, so you'd better look after Ruby properly, okay?" Yang smiled at Weiss, who got the hidden meaning. 'This is where your turn starts.'

Weiss nodded, and sat again as Yang hugged her sister, and she and Blake left the room.

Suddenly, silence filled the room. Ruby glanced at Weiss, then down at her lap, slightly red in the face. Weiss had the same feeling. They had spent all day with Yang and Blake, and consequently had yet to spend any time alone together since the confession. Now neither of them knew exactly how to act.

"You hungry?" Weiss suddenly asked. It was about dinner time after all.

"Uh... yeah, kinda."

Weiss leaned over to a terminal by the bed, and tapped some buttons. The rooms included these devices to enable patients to order without leaving their beds.

"Let's see, what would you like? And don't just say cookies."

Weiss turned her head to look at Ruby when she did not reply, and found the younger girl staring out the window, a melancholic look on her face.

"Ruby?"

That snapped her out of her trance, and Ruby blinked madly as she turned to face Weiss. "Uh... whatever I don't mind."

Weiss raised an eyebrow, but did not enquire as to why the girl was so out-of-it. Glancing at the menu, Weiss made sure to order something Ruby would like, and added a few cookies on for good measure.

When she was done, she saw that Ruby was staring into space again. Weiss sighed, knowing that Ruby thinking deeply was likely a bad sign. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Ruby started slightly, then blushed. "Sorry... I was just... thinking about where I wanted to go with you."

Weiss realised just how cute Ruby could be in that moment, as she looked down while blushing brightly. A small part of Weiss wanted to embrace Ruby, but the sensible and proper part of her mind held her in check.

Instead she just smiled. "Well you'd better think long and hard, if you want our first date to be as good as it should be."

Ruby nodded, but remained quiet. Weiss sighed, "There's something else, isn't there?"

Ruby seemed unable to meet Weiss's face, "W-well, I'm just a little... surprised still... that you said yes to me."

"You expected me to turn you down?"

Ruby nodded.

"I'm not surprised that you thought I would. If you asked me before we came to Beacon, I'd never have thought I'd want date a girl... or anyone really," Weiss muttered the last part. "But... something made me want to give it a shot with you, so I did."

"What was it?" Ruby asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What was it that made you want to try it?"

Weiss shrugged, "I'm not entirely sure. I just did." Weiss stood up. "Anyway, I need to make a few calls, you get some rest until dinner arrives, okay?"

Ruby nodded, and lay down as Weiss stepped out.

* * *

Yang was incredibly subdued. Blake found it rather unnerving. They had been back at the dorm for a good hour, having had dinner and headed up afterwards. Normally Yang would be doing something crazy, or would have rushed out to inflict her craziness on the rest of the world. But now she was just quiet.

Blake could not see the girl, as they were each on their own beds, but she knew Yang had not made a sound since they returned. While Blake appreciated the silence for reading, it unnerved her that it lasted so long. Even when she was doing homework (on those rare occasions she did not simply rush it on the day it was due) Yang would pause every five minutes to chat to Ruby or to beg Blake or Weiss to let her copy theirs.

When she finished another chapter, Blake looked up at the bed above her. Now she finally heard something out of Yang: a quiet whimper.

Blake dropped her book and stood up, looking at where Yang lay face-down on the top bunk, blonde hair shielding her face from view. One could have been forgiven for thinking she was asleep if one were ill-versed in the ways of Yang Xiao Long, but Blake knew that Yang was far too orderly to be asleep. None of the girl's limbs were thrown at any unusual angles.

"Yang," Blake put a hand on the blonde's shoulder when she heard another whimper. "Yang what's wrong?"

Yang raised her head, and through the mess of blonde hair that stuck to her face, Blake saw the messy marks left from tears.

"Oh, Blake," Yang gulped and put on a smile. "Sorry did I disturb you?"

"You idiot, I don't care about that. Why're you crying?"

Yang tried to think up a lie, but one look at Blake told her it would be pointless. Blake already knew the reason, she just wanted Yang to say it.

"It's Ruby... I want to be happy for her but... I can't."

"Why not? Do you really dislike Weiss that much?"

"No! It's not like that. Believe me, I trust Weiss to take care of Ruby. It's just... I don't want anyone else to take care of Ruby."

"To be honest," Yang continued, "I kinda wanted Weiss to turn Ruby down. Then Ruby would come crying to me, and I could comfort her, and I wouldn't have to give up my sister. I'm horrible, but I wanted to hang on to her for a little longer, even if it is only a little bit. She's the only family I have apart from Dad, and he's never been the same since..." Yang did not finish the sentence. Blake understood and nodded for her to continue.

"Anyway... I was scared of having to let her go, and now... I have to."

Blake patted her partner on the back, "Don't be silly. Ruby would never let you be alone. You're her big sister, she looks up to you, and she'll never truly leave you."

"But it won't be the same," tears leaked from Yang's eyes once more. "I mean..."

"No, it won't be the same," Blake cut her off. "But has your relationship really stayed the same before? Even since you arrived here, the two of you have both grown up, a lot. Especially Ruby. I know you care about her a lot, but you can't baby her forever."

"I know!" Yang shouted, all her grief and anger mixed into the words. "I know... I know I can't always be looking after her... that's not really the problem... I just don't want to be alone. Without Ruby I'll..."

"We're all still here Yang. We'll all still be with you." Blake pulled her partner into a hug. "You aren't alone here, remember that. When I arrived, I felt the same way, like I'd never fit in anywhere, that I'd always be by myself, and then these two idiots came and interrupted me reading on my first night, and I never managed to shake them off. Not that I wanted to..."

Yang giggled a little, "The older idiot was very sexy though."

Blake sighed, "Why do I even bother?"

"I'm your charity work or something."

They released each other from the hug, and Yang smiled at Blake. "Thanks... for talking to me. I needed it."

"Any time Yang," Blake replied as she sat down on her own bed.

"So... you think Rubes and Weiss are gonna do anything interesting while they're all alone."

Blake sighed. Yang was back to herself it seemed. "I highly doubt it."

"But what if Weiss takes advantage of Ruby's injured state? Oh no! I need to get back there!"

"Yang! Weiss would not do anything of the sort. I'd be surprised if she even knows what to do," Blake chuckled as the image of a confused Weiss appeared in her mind. She may be smart, but Blake suspected that the heiress had little knowledge of private matters.

"Yeah well I wouldn't put it past her to try. 'Weiss do you know what you're...' 'Of COURSE I know what I'm doing.'" Yang put on a rather good Ruby and Weiss impression, which had Blake laughing in spite of herself.

Silence fell once more, and Blake returned to her book. She was only disturbed once more that evening.

"Blake, thanks again."

"Any time."

* * *

A/N: Well this just wrote itself. I find it strangely easy to write this, I don't know why. Possibly because I'm less worried about making it 'perfect' than when I'm writing my books... oh well.

One thing, I noticed half-way through that Weiss goes oddly... 'nice' for want of a better way to put it. It seems OOC on the face of it, but the way I interpret her character is that once she has found someone who cares about her, she will latch on all too readily. Various aspects of her personality remind me of a younger version of myself, so it that probably comes through in the way I write her, I expect her to act in certain ways. That's the basic explanation anyway.

Regardless, yeah, so... much confession, many cute, wow. Not sure whether the next update will be as insanely fast (I'm not sure why this one was) as I'm going across the country to go back to University on Sunday. Well, given how quickly the rest of these chapters have appeared, I dare say I may finish one before then, you never know.

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ruby was sat in the stands of the school arena, watching other students fighting duels. She had got out of hospital on the Thursday of that week, and today, Friday, she was able to attend lessons once more. However, she was under an order of no extreme physical activity. That meant that when combat classes started she was only allowed to sit and watch.

Weiss, seated next to her, had noticed Ruby's slight pout. Weiss knew that the girl wanted nothing more than to hurl herself into a fight, but she had only been allowed out on the condition that she not do anything to exacerbate her injury, which had yet to finish healing. She would just have to endure the lack of training for a little while. Besides, it would give her a chance to catch up on all the work she had missed. Weiss had tried to keep both herself and Ruby in line with the classwork, but trying to make Ruby do anything study related was a difficult task to say the least. It did not help that whenever Ruby pouted it made Weiss feel like she was abusing some dumb animal.

"You know, pouting isn't going to change the doctor's orders," Weiss said.

"I know, but can you blame me? Imagine if you were told you couldn't drink coffee. That's what it's like for me not being allowed to run around or fight."

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not that obsessed with coffee. Just because I like a cup a day, doesn't mean I couldn't live without it. You and your crazy ideas."

"Okay, imagine Blake without her books."

"Equally, while I imagine she'd have to put her time into something else, I doubt she would whine about it nearly as much as you do."

Ruby's pout intensified, "That's mean." She glared at Weiss, "You seem to be enjoying this."

"Well it means I don't have to run around after you as much. Though I had better be careful, chasing you seems to be most of my exercise." Weiss smiled at Ruby's glaring pout. Ruby clearly did not realise how adorable she looked when doing that, and Weiss was not about to jeopardise her view of the spectacle by telling the younger girl.

"I hate you sometimes Weiss." Ruby turned her head and put her nose in the air, trying to look dignified and dismissive. All she managed to do was make Weiss stifle a laugh.

"You love me though."

Ruby flushed red, "Well... yeah..."

Weiss allowed herself a little giggle. "Well, maybe you should put all that energy you have stored up into preparing for Sunday."

Ruby looked at the floor and nodded. Sunday was the day they had set aside for their date. Ruby had finally worked out where she wanted to take Weiss, though she had not told the heiress where it was. The only thing Weiss knew was that it was somewhere in Vale and that Ruby thought that the smart side of casual would be the right dress code. For Weiss that meant about as casual as she normally dressed, while for Ruby it was the opposite end of her spectrum.

"I expect it to be somewhere amazing," Weiss said, examining her nails so that she could hide her smile.

"It's... special. I don't know about 'amazing.' What would be amazing in your book?"

"Well, given that I'm paying, I don't really know..."

Weiss had the feeling that, provided they did not end up somewhere totally ridiculous, she did not mind where her girlfriend took her. But she had to keep up her heiress persona.

That word had struck a chord with her in her head again: 'girlfriend.' It was strange, but pleasant, to think of Ruby like that. Even more than friends, that was what they were now. Though not quite 'lovers:' that would have to wait a while, until Ruby was older and until Weiss actually loved the girl.

It was a strange sensation, being sure that she would fall for Ruby, but not having done so yet. She just knew that the more time she spent with Ruby, the more she liked the girl, and that did not seem to be slowing down. It also seemed to Weiss that Ruby was gradually turning from cute to beautiful, and that as Ruby grew up she had started acting a little more like an adult, just a little. Weiss was pretty sure that once Ruby had become properly grown up, both in body and mind, she would have no trouble loving the redhead.

The two turned their gazes back to the current bout. Pyrrha and Jaune were in the ring, fighting another pair. To be more accurate, Pyrrha was doing most of the actual fighting, while Jaune covered her back. He had certainly improved a lot from when he arrived, not that that was saying much. Even so, his combat skills basically extended to defending himself and any allies he had. His offensive capabilities were lacking at best.

Pyrrha swept out her first opponent's feet, bringing him to the ground, then turned and leaped into the air. Clearly having practised this, Jaune ducked and put his shield up in the air, making it serve as a spring-board for Pyrrha. Jaune pushed the shield up as Pyrrha leaped at the second opponent, her height giving her final blow sufficient power to drop the boy she struck.

Applause sounded as the victors panted out their exhaustion, and nodded to each other to show their appreciation, both wearing smiles.

Miss Goodwitch stepped out into the ring as the applause died down. "An excellent display of teamwork there Miss Nikos, Mr Arc." She seemed to be sickened by having to compliment Jaune. "Now, we are almost done, but I would like to remind you that the first year tournament is in three weeks. As we have stated before, you will need to be prepared to fight as partners as well as in one vs one combat. You will all be competing, no trying to get out of it. Now, class dismissed."

Mention of the upcoming tournament had suddenly excited Ruby, who smiled brightly at the prospect of being given an excuse to fight. She started talking excitedly to Weiss about it as the two filed out of the hall along with the rest of the students.

"...and I know I'd rather be fighting grimm, but this will totally be awesome too, and I hear that the prize for highest ranking pair will be awesome too."

Weiss began to tune out Ruby's babbling. Best friends or not, girlfriends or not, Weiss knew there was certainly such a thing as too much Ruby to handle. She had learned long ago how to tune Ruby out perfectly without giving it away.

Occasionally throwing out the odd 'Uh-huh,' 'yeah' or 'you don't say,' the Weiss led the way back to their dormitory. Classes were over for the day, and thus the week. Now they had a couple of days to catch up on everything they had missed, and perhaps for a little fun if Weiss allowed it.

As the pair entered the dorm, Weiss noticed Blake on her bed reading, and Yang on the top bunk, apparently doing some work. Blake nodded to them as they entered to acknowledge their presence, and Yang glanced over and smiled. "Hey Rubes, Princess, how's it going?"

"Today was s~o bo~ring," Ruby replied, proceeding to whine at her sister about how she could not do any training, etcetera etcetera. Weiss looked on, somewhat worried.

Yang would normally have jumped off her bunk and hugged Ruby by this point, but she had just calmly sat on her bunk. The same thing had bothered Weiss the day before, Yang was being far too calm. No poking fun at anyone, no boundless energy, no crazy terrible ideas. Just calm collected normal behaviour for any other human being. If it had been anyone else acting the way she was, Weiss would have considered it normal. Well, anyone other than Ruby, but that was besides the point.

There was clearly something up, especially as Weiss was sure that a lot of Yang's smiles, which were normally bright and full of energy, were now bland, and she suspected fake.

"Blake, do you have a minute, I wanted to discuss something I found in one of those books you brought," Weiss went over to the faunus, and glanced at the door pointedly, making sure Yang and Ruby did not see.

Blake noticed, and put down her book. "Sure... but come to think of it I need to go to the library, walk with me?"

"Sure."

The two girls left the sisters in the dorm, and started walking in the direction of the library.

"Did you actually need to go to the library?" Weiss enquired.

"It wouldn't hurt, there were some things I wanted to look up. Did you actually find anything, or was that just an excuse?"

"I did actually, though nothing terribly useful. Regardless, the actual reason I wanted to talk to you was... there's something wrong with Yang."

"What do you mean?" Blake looked away from Weiss as she spoke, and the heiress glared.

"Blake, you aren't _that _good at lying you know. You can fool the other two, but not me. You know exactly what I'm talking about. She's not acting like herself, not since we got back from the hospital."

"Since we visited you actually, she's been off..."

"Is it for the reason I think it is?"

"That would be?"

"She doesn't like me and Ruby being together."

Blake stopped walking, causing Weiss to halt too. "I'm not sure that's quite the case. She is happy for Ruby, and as long as you don't hurt Ruby, Yang's not going to get angry at you. She's just a little lost about what to do with herself. I think the reason she's been restraining herself is that she doesn't want to tread on your territory now."

Weiss gave her a strange look, "Ruby's not 'my territory.'"

"Tell that to Yang. I think she's just too worried about being the overbearing older sister. On the one hand, she'd beat the crap out of you if you did anything to hurt Ruby, on the other, she doesn't want to cause problems for the two of you. At the same time there's the problem that looking after Ruby has been her purpose in life for so long now that she's not sure what to do now that that's become your job."

Weiss frowned, "And I'd hoped I was wrong... that it might not be to do with me and Ruby..."

"As if that were likely."

"Call it a fool's hope."

Blake stared at the dejected Weiss. It was rare to see Weiss looking upset, not that it was rare for her to be upset, just that she rarely showed it.

"Look, I hope you aren't thinking that you should have turned Ruby down or..."

"No of course not!"

Blake was startled by the interruption, and the look of fury in Weiss's eyes at the mere suggestion.

"Saying yes to Ruby was certainly not a mistake. I know that, but I still accept that it is because of me doing so that Yang is now out-of-sorts."

Blake was surprised that Weiss was taking this so seriously, carefully considering Yang's emotions like that. Maybe the ice queen was melting.

"Blake, can I ask for your help here?"

Blake raised a brow, "How?"

"Look, Yang and I... we don't get on fantastically. You know that, I know that, she knows that, Ruby... probably never noticed, but the point is, me trying to comfort her when we don't get on that well, and I'm the reason she's down doesn't seem like it would work. I will talk to her, and say what I need to, but at the end of it all, I think it would be better if you comfort her."

Blake nodded slowly. "You've thought about this."

"Worried about it is more accurate. I really don't want Yang to feel cut off from Ruby, or Ruby to feel her sister is distancing herself." Weiss smiled, "As a girlfriend and partner, and as a team-mate and future sister, I'm going to do my best to stop things from going awry."

Blake smiled, "You've changed you know."

Weiss laughed a little, "More than you could imagine."

"So... on another topic, that 'not very much' you found out about, what was it?"

The two began walking once more, still in the direction of the library as their conversation turned to a less depressing topic.

"Well, there were a few techniques people used to increase their power. You are familiar, I assume, with dust-fusion."

"Where you apply dust to the body of a person?"

"Yes. Dust of the same type is produced by cells in the person's body near the point of the fusion, allowing that person a supply of dust from within their own body. However, that would still leave us a problem."

"What?"

"The sheer amount of dust he must have used in our first encounter. Even with dust infused throughout his entire body, all of the correct element, it would barely allow him to produce that amount of power, and doing so would make him collapse from exhaustion most likely. Also, he seemed to be using a similar technique to speed himself up during his fight with me and Ruby, suggesting that he produced time-dust in a similar fashion."

"But he didn't use a crystal that time, did he?"

"No... nor did he when in the helicopter..." Weiss put a hand to her chin, seeming to be deep in thought. "Wait... time-dust... then a wind crystal..." Weiss stopped in her tracks, making Blake halt as well.

"Weiss?"

"Gotta try something, talk to you later." Weiss turned and started hurrying back the way they had come.

"What in the world?" Blake shrugged, then turned to go back to the library. 'What was all that about time-dust. Let's see, there are four standard forms of dust: Earth, Air, Fire, Water. How do you make time again? Earth plus Water is Ice, Fire plus Air is Lightning, all four combined is Life, and Time was... an absence of the four basic forms.'

Blake blinked, realisation dawning on her. She turned around and ran after Weiss.

* * *

"So let me get this straight, that guy is converting dust on the fly?" Yang asked as Weiss and Blake searched through Weiss's dust crystals and related gear to find what they needed.

"Essentially, yes," Weiss replied, passing a large golden crystal to Blake, who placed it in a holder on the desk. Weiss then began digging through her collection again.

"How would that work?" Ruby asked. "I know you can mix dust, but isn't that really hard?"

"Yes, but that's not what he's doing," Blake explained as Weiss searched for the last pieces she needed. "Essentially, dust has everything it needs to be of any type packed into it to start with. The element it has is simply determined by which of four different nodes are activated. Earth, Air, Fire and Water each have one of these nodes active, Ice, Lightning, Mist and Metal have two, Life has four. Meanwhile, Time dust has none of them active. However, if you were to force it through a crystal of another element, it should be possible to activate the right nodes, and turn it into another kind of dust as you cast."

"If I can do it carefully, then I should be able to cause it to convert as I use it," Weiss said as she raised her head from the box she was lent over. "I haven't tried anything like this before, but I think I should be able to do it. Regardless, worst case is that I mess up, and we all start moving at random speeds for a bit."

Weiss pulled out a small green crystal, then stepped over to where Blake had set up her apparatus. The golden crystal sat in its holder, surrounded by safety glass, and next to it was a much smaller holder. Beyond that was a small pile of paper, half a dozen sheets. Weiss stepped around behind the desk, and placed the small crystal in the holder.

"Now, let's try this." Weiss placed her hands one on each crystal, and concentrated. The golden stone began to glow, and the light spread up Weiss's arm, travelling across her shoulders and down her other arm towards the other crystal.

As the golden light reached the green gem, it enveloped it, and as the girls watched, the light shifted colour, becoming the same green as the gem. As they looked on, a small gust of wind blew from the gem, causing the papers to flutter slightly. The light faded and Weiss removed her hands, the papers also coming to rest. The golden gem seemed to have shrunk, while the green one was the same size.

Weiss was breathing heavily, and her steps were heavy. As she stepped around, Ruby went to her side, and helped her over to the bed, so that she could sit down.

"That... was exhausting," Weiss spoke between deep breaths.

"But it worked," Blake said. "If you can do it on a first attempt, he can probably do it with ease after enough practice."

"So that explains that," Ruby said smiling.

"Yeah..." Weiss managed to return her breathing to normal, and smiled weakly at the others.

Ruby's smile shifted quickly to concern. "Weiss, are you feeling alright?"

Weiss nodded, "Just very tired from that. I should be fine with a little rest."

"We should probably get you some food," Blake said, looking a little concerned. "You haven't eaten since lunch I assume, and that really looks like it took a lot out of you."

"Yeah... I am kinda hungry." Weiss made as if to stand, then stumbled a little. Ruby's arms quickly wrapped around her, holding her upright, then gently bringing her down to the bed.

"You are staying right here!" Ruby stood and pretty much forced Weiss to lie down on her bed. "I'll go get you your food, okay?"

Weiss looked simultaneously irritated and thankful. "I suppose I could allow it."

Ruby smiled, "Good, 'cause I'm not letting you try to get up 'til you've rested properly." Ruby stood, and smiled down at her girlfriend. "Now you just sit tight and I'll go grab us both dinner, 'kay?"

When Weiss nodded, Ruby headed for the door. Blake stood, "I'll come with you."

Yang stood as well, "I kinda need some food in me too."

Ruby shook her head, "Someone needs to stay here, because otherwise _someone_," she made a point of looking at Weiss, "will try to get up and not rest."

Weiss pouted, a little bit sad that Ruby did not trust her, but at the same time trying to conceal her embarrassment, as she knew that what Ruby had said was true.

"So yeah, Yang can you stay here while I go get me and Weiss something, then you can go down, 'kay?" Ruby's smile was overpoweringly bright, and Yang sighed, seating herself once more.

"Yeah yeah, just hurry up."

"Will do!" Ruby stepped outside, Blake following her.

Silence.

Weiss glanced over at Yang, who was sitting on Blake's bed looking irritated and bored. Knowing that this would likely be the best chance she would ever get, Weiss spoke up, "Yang... I'd been meaning to talk to you about something."

"What?" Yang's answer was grumpy, and she did not look at Weiss, instead glaring out the window.

"Look... I know that... you don't like the fact that Ruby's dating me... well dating anyone really. I know you think it's going to lead to her being cut out of your life, but I don't want that to happen."

Now Yang was looking at her, glaring at her. "You of all people know that that's the only result we'll get to."

Weiss shook her head. "Yang, I'm not going to take her away from you. Yes, one day, if all goes well between us, she and I will live together, and probably not with you, but wasn't that going to happen anyway? Ruby would one day stop living with you."

"I know!" Yang slammed a fist into the bed, "I know that! I was prepared to be away from her when I came here, it was only by good fortune that she got moved up to our year, and again that we ended up in the same team. I just... I expected another three and a half years, and then this all happened." Tears began to form in Yang's eyes. "Now she's yours to protect, yours to look after, yours to..."

"And just because that's my job, it doesn't mean you can't do it too!"

Weiss's interruption startled Yang, who just gaped at the heiress.

"Yes, I need to look after Ruby, but you can as well. You're still her big sister, and no matter what, big sisters have to look out for their little sisters."

Yang was now simply staring at her. "You don't get it... Ruby and I..."

"I do get it! If my sister started dating someone, I wouldn't just roll over and say 'it's all on him now.' No, I would still be keeping an eye out for her."

Yang's lips broke into a small smile. "Sorry... I always forget you have a little sister too... so I suppose you do get it..."

Weiss nodded. "I know what it's like..."

"Always watching out for them, always trying to get them to grow up well, better than yourself..."

"Those awkward moments when they ask you questions that are more adult than you expected of them, trying to keep them pure and innocent, but not naïve."

"I botched that last bit," Yang chuckled. "Ruby'd believe the sky were bright pink if you told her."

Weiss gave Yang a surprised look. "Uh... Yang, the sky is pink."

Yang stared, then burst out laughing, "Hey, I may be a bit gullible at times, but I'm not that thick! The sky is as pink as my hair!"

Weiss smiled, "It was worth a try."

"So... tell me Weiss, as a fellow older sister, what would _you_ do if I started dating your little sister."

Weiss's eyes turned dark, "First, I'd tell her that she had even worse taste than I do, then..." Weiss gave a faux-psychotic smile. "Tell me, how would you least like to die Yang?"

Yang rarely felt fear, but the look in Weiss's eyes was pushing her towards 'terrified.' "Uh... Weiss... you wouldn't would you?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And why not?"

"'Cause I'm cool with you and Ruby, so y'know..."

Weiss smirked, "Yeah... I'd probably let you off the hook, as long as you took care of Winter."

Yang breathed a sigh of relief when Weiss stopped the psycho-look. "But yeah... so..." Yang stood and walked over to Weiss. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna keep looking after your girlfriend."

Weiss nodded, "If you don't mind, I'm going to keep dating your sister."

Yang nodded, "Friends?" She extended a hand to Weiss.

Weiss shook the hand, "Friends, and maybe sisters one day."

Yang gave her a dark look, "I said I'd let you date her, not marry her."

Weiss returned the look, "Who said I needed your permission? I was just being polite."

"Oh really?"

A staring contest ensued. It was during it that Ruby bounded into the room with a tray of food, for her and Weiss, clutched in her hands. The death-glares her sister and girlfriend were giving each other unnerved her to say the least.

"Yang! Weiss! Please don't kill each other!"

Yang laughed, then walked over to Ruby and ruffled the girl's hair. "We were just having a friendly staring contest, weren't we Weiss?"

Weiss stuck her nose in the air, "I wouldn't call it 'friendly.'"

"Whatever Miss Ice Queen. Anyway, I need to go grab my grub. Later." With that, Yang left the room.

Ruby stepped over, putting her own food on the room's desk, and passing the tray with the remaining food to Weiss. "I wish you and Yang wouldn't fight so much."

Weiss giggled, "If only you knew."

"Eh?" Ruby was thoroughly confused. Weiss provided no answers as she tucked into her meal.

Ruby chattered away as the pair ate, bringing up how their rolls were effectively reversed from when she was in hospital, and the antics of Nora in the dining hall. To Weiss it almost sounded like Cluedo: it was Nora, in the dining hall, with the fishing rod. How this had happened, Weiss was left in the dark about, though she felt that knowing would only make her feel like bashing her head against a wall until she forgot about it. Or until she slipped into a coma, either would do.

Part way through the meal, Weiss's scroll bleeped, and she took it out. An incoming call awaited her, and seeing the name she was surprised, but pleasantly so.

"Who is it?" Ruby asked.

"Winter, my little sister." Weiss tapped a button, and a voice spoke from the scroll.

"_Big Sis?"_

Weiss smiled at the childish voice. "Hello Winter."

"_Sis!" _Ruby thought the voice sounded very much like Weiss's, though a little less refined, perhaps more playful. It made sense to Ruby: if Weiss was the future queen of the Schnee company, Winter would surely be the eternal princess. Where Weiss would be serious and refined, Winter should be playful and cute.

"_I heard about what happened from Mummy, are you okay?"_

"I'm fine Winter, you don't have to worry about me."

"_And what about the girl who saved you?"_

"I'm fine too." Ruby smiled brightly, and Weiss threw a glare at her. "Did I do something wrong?"

"_Oh... she's with you right now?"_

"Yes..."

"_Hey, Miss Rose!"_

"Hello."

"_Thanks for saving Big Sis! I don't know what I'd have done if Sis had been hurt."_

"It's okay, I don't know what I would have done if Weiss had been hurt either."

"So, Winter," Weiss cut the conversation before Ruby said anything she should not. "Aside from checking on us, was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"_We~ll, you see, Daddy's going down to Vale tomorrow to check on the plant, and I'm going with him."_

"I wasn't told he was coming down..." Weiss sounded irritated.

"_It was only decided today. Apparently there were some meetings cancelled, so he decided he'd come down himself to check on things."_

"So why are you coming?"

"_Only to visit my favourite big sister!"_

"I'm your only big sister."

"_So I definitely got it right! Anyway, Dad said I could do as I liked for the day, as long as I was back by dinner, a~nd as long as I got you to come to dinner too."_

Weiss paused, not quite sure quite what to say.

"_Oh, also, Dad said he'd like to thank Miss Rose personally, so she's invited too!"_

Weiss looked over at Ruby. Ruby nodded, and mouthed "We should."

Weiss turned back to the scroll, "Very well, what time will you arrive?"

"_We'll get to the HQ building at about twelve o'clock."_

"Very well, I shall meet you there at half past twelve then, if that is agreeable, and we can go and have lunch together."

"_Yay! And make sure Miss Rose comes too!"_

Ruby laughed, "Sure thing."

"_Anyway, I need to go and pack some things. I'll see you tomorrow."_

"Very well, goodbye for now then."

"_Bye!"_

The call ended. Weiss put down the scroll, then looked at Ruby. Ruby looked back, as both of them formed the same question in their minds.

"Do we tell them?" Ruby asked, mere seconds before Weiss would have asked the same thing. "Do we tell them about _us_?"

"I... don't think we should tell Winter," Weiss said. "At least... not by herself. If we're going to tell her, we should talk to my father first."

"Why?"

"Father can read Winter and I much more easily than most people, and while I still give him some trouble, Winter is like an open book to him. Also... even from the little you just saw, you can imagine how she would react to us telling her."

Ruby nodded. She could only see Winter being excited by the news, and would not think of any of the potential problems that might arise. "So then... do we tell your father?"

Weiss pondered this. She did not know how her father would react, but she felt that he should know, had a right to know, if nothing else. That aside, he would probably be able to tell they were hiding something from him.

"I think... we should."

Ruby nodded, "Then I'll stand by you for it."

Weiss smiled, "Thanks... now, we don't have much time. Finish your food, we need to get working."

"What?"

"We're going to be out for all of tomorrow, and Sunday is our date. We need to catch up on all that work, so this evening we shall do it all."

"A-all?" Ruby paled. "But..."

Weiss glared at her, "Ruby, either you get the work done, or we aren't going out on Sunday."

Ruby opened her mouth to argue, then rigidly closed it. Pouting a little, she gave in. "Just make sure to help me when I get stuck."

"Of course," Weiss replied with a smile.

* * *

A/N: So yeah, this chapter actually took nearly a week. That is largely down to me traversing the country and having somewhat shoddy internet yesterday. I finished this chapter at about midnight my time last night, so what with it needing a quick check and me wanting to sleep, it got delayed to today. But yes, still less than a week, so it's all fine.

A general question for anyone who cares to review: am I doing the characters all right in your opinions? I feel I keep making Weiss go a bit far OOC (not that the original series establishes very consistent characterisations anyway, but whatever).

Also, how do people feel about the segment explaining dust? Personally, I think I have a bit too much of a tendency to bring magic down to some form of science. In my settings for fantasy novels, they generally have some sort of 'mana' which functions in a similar way to my explanations of dust above, but I never know how much I should explain. On the one hand, magic needs rules, and some amount of explanation, otherwise, 'a wizard did it' starts to become an explanation for anything and everything. On the other hand, I know that people generally like magic to retain the mystical and mysterious element of being largely unknown. Opinions on this would be very useful, as one of my planned novels is in a fantasy setting, with magic being of considerable importance.

On another note, for those who read my one-shot and were saying it should become a series or should have another bit added etc. here's the thing: I liked where it ended, and unless I have an amazing idea for continuing it, that's where it's ending. There is such a thing in all forms of fiction as an open ending, allowing the reader to make up their own mind. Hence fan fiction.

So, after that extensive A/N, see you next time.

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Weiss paced around the dorm room, looking anxious. Blake glanced up from her book every so often, observing the heiress as she paced.

"You know, doing that isn't going to make her any faster."

Weiss shot a glare at Blake. "I know that, but why the heck is she taking so long?"

Blake sighed, "I don't know, but what I do know is that I'm trying to read, and you're very distracting."

Weiss tilted her head and put a hand to her cheek, feigning a shocked expression. "Oh? Can't you take your eyes off me? I didn't realise... but I'm afraid I'm already taken."

Blake glared, "I can't take my eyes off you for all the wrong reasons. Besides, white is totally not my thing."

Weiss feigned being offended, then turned and went over to her bed. Sitting down, she glanced at the clock: 11.16. Their airship would leave in twenty minutes, it took them ten to get to the airport. They had a fair amount of time, but Weiss wanted to be there early, just to be safe.

Ruby was, as ever, taking far too long. Weiss never got why it took Ruby so long, as she always came out only just acceptable. Weiss suspected that she just got distracted all the time. She had asked Ruby to dress smartly, though not made nearly as big a deal of it as for the opening. Weiss herself had simply changed from combat gear into a more graceful, but still casual outfit, with white blouse, along with her white button-up dress over the top.

Finally Ruby came out of the bathroom, looking somewhat better than when she went in. Her hair was tidied, and she wore just a little make-up. If it had been anyone else, Weiss would have thought it was to let natural beauty shine through, but this being Ruby, Weiss suspected that the girl had just decided to only use the make-up she was really good at. That did not leave many options.

She was dress in a black dress blouse, crimson skirt and her favourite cloak, which she had promised Weiss she would take off when they arrived for dinner. Both girls carried their weapons, just to be on the safe side.

"Weiss! Do I look okay? I hope I do, I don't want to give your dad a bad impression..."

Weiss smiled a little, "Trust me, your looks are the least of your concerns on that front."

Ruby pouted, looking down, a little upset by Weiss's comment. The older girl sighed and stepped over to her, patting her hair. "I was joking Ruby. You look beautiful, and as long as you mind your manners I'm sure you will make a good impression."

Ruby smiled, clearly reassured. She stepped to Weiss's side, and linked their arms, "Now come my lady, we should be off."

Weiss giggled a little at Ruby's attempts to be sophisticated. "Okay, to the station then."

The two left, and Blake smiled from her corner, glad that the two had managed to start their difficult day without any unfortunate incidents, and that she could now have some peace and quiet. At least, it would be quiet until Yang returned. The blonde had disappeared earlier, saying she was going for a run. Blake doubted that even Yang would run for four hours without a good reason, unless she was secretly training as a marathon runner.

Blake was aware that Weiss had talked things over with Yang a little, but Blake suspected that Yang still did not really want to be around for them to be acting like a couple, or for the talk of meeting family.

Blake simply kept reading until, half an hour after Ruby and Weiss had left, Yang strode briskly into the dorm.

"Hello!" she had a bright, sunny smile on her face.

"Hello, you've been running for a while then?"

Yang laughed, "Even I'm not that suicidal. Nah, I stopped for breakfast, then went and sparred with Nora for a while... that reminds me, if Goodwitch asks, Jaune is the one who left the massive hole in the training arena."

"Pyrrha is gonna get angry at you again," Blake commented.

"Why would she? It's not like we're blaming her."

Blake glared at her, "Unless you're blind, you know how she feels about Jaune, so unless you want a spear in the back, I suggest you go and clear things up, before Jaune gets blamed."

"Sure, whatever. But first and foremost, I need a shower," Yang started gathering her things, and headed towards the bathroom.

"Yang?"

The blonde halted when Blake said her name. "Yeah?"

"Are you happy now?"

Yang would have given some silly joke of an answer, but Blake's look made her words halt in her throat. Coughing lightly, Yang looked back at her partner. "I'm fine. Everything's good. Not great, but good."

Blake nodded, "Well if it ever isn't, you can talk to me, okay?"

Yang beamed, "I know. With your ears, I'm sure you'd be a great listener."

Blake glared, "I won't listen if you're going to be like that."

"Sorry, sorry." Yang turned to the bathroom once more, then glanced back. "Really though, thanks Blake."

"Your welcome," Blake replied, turning back to her book.

* * *

Weiss was acting very highly strung, and Ruby could not really blame her.

The two of them were now approaching the Schnee company's Vale HQ, walking there as they had ample time, and Ruby could see Weiss was thinking over every detail of what they would end up doing today. A few times, Ruby had to grab her arm and pull her out of the way of another pedestrian or a lamppost. She really was not with it.

Then again, Ruby realised how scary it would be telling her own father about her and Weiss dating. That was not something Ruby looked forward to much, but compared to Weiss's situation, it would no doubt be a walk in the park.

Ruby realised just how difficult this would be for Weiss. Both girls had daddy issues, but in Ruby's case it was owed to something reasonable enough. In Weiss's case, to Ruby's knowledge, it was simply the fact that Eisen Schnee never had enough time for his daughter because he was too busy working, and when he did have time it seemed he spent it trying to make his daughter into the perfect heir. At least, that was the impression that Ruby got.

It occurred to her that she really did not know that much about Weiss's family, beyond who was in it: a father, a mother and a little sister. Weiss never talked about any of them really, beyond the occasional passing mention of her father. Now Ruby was going to meet two of them, and she felt entirely unprepared for it.

"So... Weiss, excited to see your sister?"

Weiss was surprised out of her thoughts, and took a moment to reply. "I suppose, though I doubt I'm anything like as excited as she is."

Ruby giggled, "That's what us little sisters are here for."

Weiss glared, "You mean 'we,' not 'us.'"

Ruby pouted, "A grammar lesson, now?"

"Especially now, you will be meeting my father this afternoon, and you need to make a good impression."

Ruby knew that arguing any further would just stress her girlfriend even more, so shut herself up. They walked in silence until they reached their destination. Ruby had recognised it from some distance, from when they attended the dinner there. They were a little early, but not too much.

"You ready?" Ruby asked as Weiss looked up at the building.

"I'd better be, you?"

"As ready as I'm going to be."

The pair stepped up to the doors, and a doorman opened one the moment he saw Weiss, bowing slightly to her. When they stepped inside, Ruby was impressed by how empty the grand entrance hall was. Last time, there had been about fifty people milling around, now it was just them, a couple of guards and a woman sitting behind a reception desk.

Weiss strode over to the desk, and Ruby hurried to follow her. The receptionist looked up as they approached, and smiled politely. "Miss Schnee. Your father and sister arrived a little while ago. Mr Schnee apologises, but he has had to go straight into a meeting. He asked me to inform you that he will expect you, Miss Rose and your sister at La Grand Hotel for dinner at 6 o'clock."

"Thank you," Weiss replied. "Would you know where my sister is?"

"I believe she is in Mr Schnee's office."

Weiss nodded, "My thanks." She then glanced at Ruby, and indicated a lift. The two stepped over to it and once inside, Weiss pressed the button for the 6th, and top, floor, and they waited.

Ruby noticed that Weiss was breathing very deliberately. She suspected the heiress was trying to calm her own nerves. Ruby herself was calm. For the moment it was just going to be the little sister, how bad could that be?

The lift stopped, and the doors opened. Weiss led Ruby into a corridor, walking down it to the very end. There, a plain door greeted, the only decoration on it a simple name-plate: 'E. Schnee.'

Weiss drew in a breath, then knocked.

"Yes?" a female voice called out. It was a voice both girls recognised.

"May we come in?" Weiss asked.

There was no response, only silence, which was suddenly broken by a whirl of activity from the room. Suddenly the door was pulled open from inside, and a white bundle of energy had attached itself to Weiss.

Now that she had stopped, Ruby could see that the bundle of energy was nothing more nor less than a smaller version of Weiss. Winter had thrown her arms around her big sister and was hugging her with all her strength.

"Winter!"

"Sis! It's been ages."

Winter pulled back, and Ruby saw just how much the two girls resembled each other. If Weiss were three years younger, and a little less beautiful and more adorable, the result would be Winter Schnee.

Facially, the main differences were that Winter had a shorter, plumper face than her sister, and naturally she lacked the scar over her eye. Instead, just below her left eye was a tiny mole, a single dark dot on otherwise pure white skin.

Her hair was the same white as her sister's, but while Weiss wore a single ponytail, Winter had two, one on each side of her head. She had similar decorations in her hair to the ones that Weiss had holding her own ponytail in place, though hers looked a fair bit smaller. She was dressed in a baby blue dress, with a white jacket, like her sister's, over the top.

Ruby started to wonder if Winter was actually just a clone of Weiss, and the Schnee family had even more skeletons in its closet than everyone thought they did. Suddenly, Ruby realised what this all meant: now she had Beautiful Weiss and Adorable Weiss, both right in front of her. It was too much to handle.

"Urgh... Winter, not so clingy please."

"Aw~ but I just wanted to have a cuddle with my sister." Winter pouted as she spoke, and Weiss realised just how screwed she was if Winter and Ruby started pouting at the same time.

"Anyway, Ruby..." Weiss turned her head to her partner, about to introduce the two, then she froze, staring at Ruby.

Ruby had her hands balled up in front of her face, her eyes wide open, and was visibly shaking. Short of yelling 'squee' she looked like a fangirl who had just seen her favourite actor or something. Weiss was unimpressed to say the least.

"Ruby!"

"Weiss! You never told me you had such an adorable little sister. Can I hug her? I want to hug her!"

Weiss was at that moment very glad that her father was not there. This would not have been a good first impression. "Ruby! Behave!"

Ruby suddenly stood at attention, and nodded. "My apologies. Miss Winter..." she bowed, and extended a hand in a gentlemanly manner. "Might I have this hug?"

Winter cocked her head cutely, "You're Miss Rose, right?"

"Yes, but you can call me Ruby."

Winter suddenly hugged Ruby tightly. "Thanks so much for saving my sister."

Ruby was surprised, but nervously returned the hug. "Like I said, I did it for myself as much as anything. I don't know what I'd do without Weiss."

"Get with my sister by the looks of it," Weiss muttered angrily under her breath.

"What was that Sis?" Winter asked, and Weiss looked away.

"Nothing."

Winter stepped back from Ruby, and smiled. "Anyway, Miss Ruby, it's really nice to meet you."

Ruby smiled back, "You too Winter."

The two started an energetic chatter, getting to know each other, and Weiss sighed. Either of them, she could cope with, but combined, the two just had so much energy that Weiss knew something would go wrong here eventually. Although, if she researched enough, may she could find a way of turning their boundless energy into a more manageable source, thus solving all energy crises the world over.

"So, where're you taking me for lunch?" Winter asked.

"There are several cafés nearby which do light lunches, you can take your pick," Weiss replied, finally getting to be part of the conversation.

"Light? Aw~" Winter pouted. "How are we meant to have the energy to have fun this afternoon off a salad or whatever?"

"Winter!"

Ruby intervened, "There's a nice pasta place nearby, we could go to that. Something light for Weiss, and something with more energy for the two of us!"

"That sounds great!" Winter beamed.

Ruby glanced at Weiss, wearing an apologetic look. Weiss sighed, then gave a slight smile. Winter could be such a handful. It was nice that Ruby was trying her best to help the situation at least.

"Fine, that will do. Just make sure you don't eat too much. If you failed to eat dinner, Father would not be impressed."

"Like that would happen," Winter said with a smirk. "Now, onwards! To food!"

Winter hurried over to the lift, and stood tapping her foot, staring down the corridor to where the other two girls were walking more slowly towards her.

"She's nice," Ruby said quietly to Weiss. "Not very like you though."

Weiss sighed, "Yes... that is an apt way of putting it."

"Is she why you can tolerate me so easily?" Ruby asked with a smirk.

"Quite possibly," Weiss replied. The two reached the excited Winter, and all of them stepped into the lift.

* * *

As the three girls walked out of the HQ's front door, a man passed them, glancing back at the three briefly. He recognised the older two, and guessed the identity of the third. He smiled a little, then stepped inside the building, walking over to the receptionist.

"Hey I'm Major Xin Hua, from AEGX Mercenary Corps. I have an appointment."

The receptionist nodded. "For 1 o'clock correct? Yes, if you take the lift to the 6th floor, then to meeting room 8. It's on the left. Oh... just one thing, Mr Schnee will be there as well."

Xin raised an eyebrow. "Mr Schnee? He's in Vale?"

"Just for today, he's come down to deal with the aftermath of that attack," the receptionist reached under her desk, and pulled out a lanyard with a card marked 'guest' on it. She handed it to Xin. "Please keep this with you while in the building, and return it when you leave." Xin nodded, and the receptionist gave him a smile. "I'll send a message up to Mr Schnee's office that you have arrived. He should be with you once his current meeting is over."

"Thank you," Xin headed over to a lift, and went inside. Pressing the '6' button he leaned back against the wall of the lift. Nobody else got in with him, and once the doors closed, he raised the card he had been given to his eyes, and examined it.

"Barcode... well only one copy will work, oh well." He took a small device out of his pocket and inserted the card into a slot in it. He pressed a button, and a red light came on. A few seconds later the light turned green, and he removed the card, placing the device back in his pocket. He put the lanyard around his neck as the lift stopped, then he stepped out as the doors opened. 'Awfully nice of them not to have security cameras in the lifts.'

* * *

Weiss was seated on a bench in a park, watching her girlfriend and sister running around on the grass. The girls were playing tag, which Weiss had advised against, but Winter would have none of it. The younger girls soon realised why her sister thought it a bad idea.

Even with a ban on her semblance, Ruby was still a lot faster than Winter. It had not surprised Weiss at all: Ruby was a huntress-in-training, while Winter's most athletic activity was her school P.E. lessons. There was little contest.

Winter attended a private school in Atlas, the same one that Weiss had attended before coming to Beacon. However, while Weiss had learned to fight out of school, Winter spent her time making 'friends.' Weiss would one day run the company, while her sister used her connection, that was the plan. Winter had often said she did not like her job, but did it regardless, even though it meant wearing countless masks that were not anything like her true self.

To most, Winter was as prim and proper as Weiss, but when it was just the sisters, she showed her true colours. It seemed Ruby had been included in that count as well now.

Weiss watched as Ruby ducked aside as Winter ran at her. Winter had been 'it' for about twenty minutes now.

Weiss glanced at a nearby clock: 2.57. Another three hours until dinner. On the one hand, Weiss was pleased to see her sister for once, but on the other, just getting lunch had been an exhausting experience. Ruby and Winter were constantly babbling away to each other, to the point where it was hard to get them to order their food. Then when it arrived, she had been forced to spectate some of the messiest eating she had ever seen, and her admonishing words had fallen on deaf ears, as Ruby and Winter seemed to be having some sort of contest to break as many rules of etiquette as possible. She suspected they were just trying to get her angry by the end of it. It had worked.

The chance to sit down and rest, watching from a safe distance, was quite the relief.

Her rest was stopped when Ruby and Winter came jogging over, Winter panting heavily, Ruby seemingly unaffected by the exercise.

"Hey Weiss!"

"Sis! Miss Ruby's far too fast."

"I did warn you," Weiss said, smiling a little. "You should see her in battle... actually no you shouldn't. I don't want you near any battlefields."

Ruby giggled, "Man, you sound like Yang when I was a kid."

"You still are a child."

Ruby pouted, "You know what I mean. Besides, so are you."

"For a couple more months, yes," Weiss replied. "But I am far more of an adult than you."

Ruby glared, "Weiss! I am totally like an adult. I'm super mature!"

Weiss could not suppress a light laugh. "Maybe when you stop using the word 'super' then I will start to believe you."

Ruby was about to reply, when she was cut off by Winter. "An old married couple."

"Eh?" Both of the other girls stared at her.

"That's what you two are like." Winter smiled cheekily.

"Who are you calling old?" Ruby asked, while Weiss attempted to avoid her cheeks reddening. Sometimes, Winter was far too accidentally perceptive. She did not mean anything by the comment, nor had she realised anything about Ruby and Weiss's relationship, but had come very close with her word.

Ruby and Winter had started to bicker once more, with Winter telling Ruby how old she was, in spite of the age difference between them being less than a year.

"Well if I'm old, then Weiss is ancient!"

Weiss glared at Ruby, who swallowed hard when she noticed the look. She was used to Weiss's glares, though this one was particularly angry.

"Er... not that Weiss is ancient, or even old... because neither of us are... right?"

Weiss stood, and glared at Ruby, "Neither of us _is_ you dolt!"

* * *

The afternoon passed in various interesting wanderings. They went to see what sights there were in Vale, took a stroll by the waterfront, then made their way to the hotel for dinner. Ruby was telling Winter a story of a hunt they had gone on, and Weiss was pretty sure the story had changed a little since Ruby had told Mr Clement the other day.

Weiss was rather more focused on the major challenge that she and Ruby would be facing that evening. Her father was fairly open-minded, sometimes, it would be fine. She just needed to convince herself of that now.

The three of them reached the hotel. Pretty much the moment they entered, a waiter was by their side, bowing to Weiss.

"Miss Schnee?"

"Yes."

"Your father awaits in a private room. May I escort you?"

"Thank you," Weiss replied.

The waiter took Ruby's cloak, then lead the way to the back room. He knocked, and a call of 'Enter' came from within.

Weiss was the first in, with Ruby and Winter following behind. At a table sat two men. One was Mr. Clement, who the girls had not expected, but none of them were in the least unhappy to see him. The other was Eisen Schnee.

Ruby had not known what to expect of her partner's father. What she had expected was someone out of the ordinary. What she had not expected was a very plain-looking gentleman, with short silver hair, and a calm look about him, but that was what she got. He was dressed in a simple grey suit with white shirt and a blue tie with the family emblem in black near the bottom. When he saw his daughters and Ruby enter, he smiled.

"Weiss, it has been far too long. How are you?"

"Quite well Father," Weiss replied. Ruby noticed her stiffness, and wanted to take her hand, reassure the girl, and remind her that she was there for her. But with Mr Schnee there, that was the last thing she should do.

Winter had hurried over to Mr Clement, and was talking excitedly to him, though Ruby noticed that her language and actions were more contained, more like her sister's, than they had been earlier.

"So this must be Miss Ruby Rose," Mr Schnee stood and stepped over to Ruby, then held out a hand. "I have much to thank you for, and apologise to you for."

"It's quite all right sir." Ruby took the hand and shook it. "Weiss is in my team, so as team leader it is my duty to make sure she is safe."

Mr Schnee gave a polite, but genuine, laugh. "It would seem that Weiss has ended up with an excellent team leader. Now come, sit, I will have the waiter bring us some drinks."

"Father," Weiss said quietly, so that only the two of them and Ruby could hear. "After the meal, there is something Ruby and I need to talk about with you."

Her father looked ever so slightly taken aback, but nodded, "Very well, not a problem I hope?"

"Depends on how _you_ look at it."

Mr Schnee showed his confusion on his face for the briefest of moments, then returned to a simple smile. "Okay, I will wait until we are done to ask any more."

"Thank you," Weiss replied.

Ruby had to say, the meal was not as good as the one they had eaten at the HQ. It was, however, a close second in 'The Most Delicious Meals Ruby Rose Has Ever Eaten' competition. She was sat next to Weiss, who sat by her father. Winter and Mr. Clement were on the other side of the table. The five made pleasant conversation throughout the evening, with Mr Schnee asking how his daughter's life at Beacon was, which Weiss answered with some unrequested help from Ruby.

Ruby was trying her best to make a good impression. She was watching her words and her table manners to the best of her abilities. Mr Clement was being the same somewhat jovial person as he had been the last time they met, and Mr Schnee did not seem to be noticing if Ruby was slipping up at all.

Weiss had stopped acting quite so stiffly, relaxing gradually as the meal went on. Ruby was glad to see her having a normal conversation with her father. From what little she knew of their relationship, she was surprised by how comfortably they seemed to be talking.

"So, Miss Rose..." Mr Schnee began, and Ruby unconsciously sat up a little straighter.

"Yes sir?"

"Tell me, what is it like being on a team with Weiss? Especially as you are charged with leading the team, it must be an interesting experience."

Ruby glanced between the politely expectant father, and the look from Weiss which said 'you'd better be nice, or else I'll never let you forget it.'

"Well... it was a little difficult to start with, we disagreed about lots of things, and I wasn't exactly the most mature leader." Ruby laughed a little, her nervousness showing even though she was trying to hide it. "But after a little while, we started getting along better, and working together really well. To be honest, I can't imagine being on a team with anyone else. It's like... when we're in a fight, we just work in this certain way, that I can't imagine working with any other group of people."

Ruby looked embarrassed. "Does that make sense?"

Mr Schnee laughed good naturedly, and Mr Clement followed suit.

"My my, I have to say I'm glad." Mr Schnee smiled as he spoke, "I did worry that Weiss might not fit in, or end up in a team she couldn't work with. I'm glad to hear that's not the case."

Ruby smiled, but in the back of her mind, there was a strange worry. This man seemed like a normal, concerned father, so why had Weiss been acting so stiffly earlier? Also, why the poor relationship which Ruby knew they had?

It just did not make sense.

The meal continued, desert was eaten, and they were on the coffee before Ruby knew it. Once more, Weiss had begun to tense up, and again Ruby had to resist the urge to take her hand. Instead, when Weiss looked her way, Ruby made sure to smile reassuringly. Weiss appeared a little comforted, and nervously returned the smile.

Once they had finished the coffee, Mr Schnee started talking about the hotel's gardens, which were apparently very fine.

"Oh? Can we go see them?" Winter asked, her curiosity clearly piqued.

"If you'd like," her father replied. As he spoke, he gave Mr Clement a glance. Ruby knew that glance, or rather that type of glance. The two friends were communicating without speaking, and Mr Clement clearly got the message.

"I'll go with you Winter, I have heard good things about the gardens here."

Winter nodded, then looked at her sister and Ruby, "You two should come too."

Weiss smiled, "Sorry, but Father and I have a few more things to catch up on, and I rather think he still has some thanks to give Ruby."

Winter gave her a funny look. She was not stupid, Ruby could tell. Winter had gathered that there was some other purpose. But she got that she could not fight it, so simply sighed. "You two are going to miss out, oh well."

Once Winter and Mr Clement had left the room, Mr Schnee turned to the two girls. "So, you had something to talk to me about?"

Weiss glanced at Ruby, who nodded, and Weiss drew a deep breath, "Well... Ruby and I are..."

Weiss's words halted. It was harder than she had anticipated, and she had thought it would be tough to start with.

Ruby saw that Weiss was struggling, and put a hand on her shoulder. Then she looked up at Mr Schnee. "What she's trying to say is... we're dating."

Silence.

* * *

A/N: Yes I am evil for ending it there. No I don't have a problem with being evil.

Thanks to the people who gave their opinions on the things I asked about last time. To the anonymous review it was kind-of a reference. I would likely have written something very similar if I hadn't read the other story, but it did occur to me as I wrote it.

I hope people like the characterisation for Winter and Mr Schnee. I have to say, I've always disliked the way most people characterise him, as only a little short of a psycho. Again, having had a not entirely dissimilar relationship with my own parents to Weiss's (at least from what is shown), I get the impression that her parents are well-meaning but in unfortunate circumstances for raising a child, plus they just have a lot of expectations of their daughter, but aren't necessarily going to force her to be something she really doesn't want to be. I dunno, maybe that's just my reading of it, but I certainly see no reason to make them trollolol-evil. Anyways, until next time.

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Mr Schnee stared at the two girls, his face set in a neutral tone. After a few moments, he broke the silence which had fallen around the table.

"You two are dating?"

"Yes," Weiss replied quietly.

"And this is serious?"

"Yes." Weiss spoke again as Ruby nodded.

Mr Schnee seemed to be studying their faces intently, and weighing his potential responses in his head. After a little longer, he let out a deep sigh. "Well... I have two things to say. The first, as your father Weiss, congratulations on finding someone."

Weiss blinked. Of all his possible responses, she had not seen that coming. "Father?"

"You two seem close from what I've seen of you, so I know you're in good hands. Though Miss Rose, should I ever discover that you have hurt my little girl, I _will_ find you." He left the threat at that, which somehow made it more terrifying, and Ruby shivered slightly under his stern gaze.

"Don't worry Sir, I'd never do anything to hurt Weiss."

"Good." He gave her a small smile, then his face turned more serious. "That is my response as Eisen Schnee, your father. However, as Mr Schnee, Chairman of the Schnee Corporation... I have to say this is going to cause a lot of trouble, for you, for me and for the company."

His whole attitude had changed, from a kind but stern demeanour to one that barely seemed human to Ruby. His eyes seemed empty now, and his words without emotion. This was the Mr Schnee who ran the Schnee Corporation.

"Miss Rose, you have no significant wealth, nor really anything that we can use as an excuse for me to let you two being together. If, for example, you were a faunus, I could claim to other people of a similar status to myself that it was to try to show that my company, and family, did care about faunus, reducing the White Fang aggression, etcetera etcetera. But aside from the sexuality of your match, there's nothing that I can use as a political excuse. You aren't rich enough to persuade anyone it is an advantageous match, and you aren't poor enough, given that you will have a huntress's wage, to persuade anyone that it will make us more popular with the people."

"In short, if I were to publicly support your match, I would lose credibility, and that would consequently affect the company. So I can't publicly support you, so..."

"We'll have to keep it secret," Weiss cut in. Her voice had a cold edge to it.

Mr Schnee nodded. "The best way for this to go in the long run is, assuming you two stay together that long, one day Weiss shows up with her new wife in tow, and I irritably accept it."

Ruby glanced between the two Schnees, understanding and worry simultaneously taking hold of her. She now saw why Weiss and her father had such a delicate relationship. From a purely logical point of view, what Mr Schnee had said made perfect sense. But the idea of having to conceal her relationship with Weiss until marriage was a tough one.

"Is there no other way?" Ruby asked.

"Without a massive loss in trust in my judgement, and consequently in the company, causing a massive loss of our funds, which will trickle down to the next generation, that is, you, I can't think of a better way."

Mr Schnee leaned back and sighed, "Unless your father has suddenly become rich since..." he tailed off, realising what he had said.

"My father?" Ruby stared at him, "You know my dad?"

Mr Schnee bit his lip, "He was an acquaintance, a long time ago. Anyway, the point is, you two will need to avoid your relationship coming into the public eye, so that I can claim I never knew of it."

Weiss did not look happy, and if anyone else had been talking to her, Ruby was sure that she would have snapped at them by now. But she seemed to be controlling herself, possibly because she understood that what her father was saying was logical, if nothing else.

Mr Schnee put a hand to his forehead, then lowered the hand to cover his eyes. When he removed the hand, his eyes had returned to his normal look, no longer devoid of feeling. "I'm sorry, but that's really likely to be for the best. I mean, among other things, if the tabloids got hold of your relationship, it would be unfortunate to say the least. I doubt the two of you would much like being hounded by media dogs."

Weiss nodded slowly. Ruby caught the sad look on her face. Now Ruby was able to show her care for the girl, she gently laid her hand on Weiss's. Weiss started slightly at the touch, but with a glance at Ruby, and a small smile, she moved her hand a little so that the two of them held each others hands properly.

"Okay, we shall do our utmost to keep it quiet," Weiss said. "But if there is any way you find to let us stop hiding it..."

"I will tell you at once."

Weiss still seemed unhappy, but looked at Ruby, "You okay with this Ruby?"

"Well, it's not ideal, but I think I can live with it."

Weiss nodded, then turned back to her father. "Very well then, that is that."

Mr Schnee nodded, then sat back in his chair. "Well, now that that's out of the way, all that I have left to say on the matter is that I hope this works out for the two of you." He smiled a little, "To tell you the truth Miss Rose, I was always worried that Weiss would never find anyone to love, or even any good friends."

"Father!"

Mr Schnee chuckled, "I know I know. But you did inherit your temperament from me Weiss, and I know how hard it was for me to find friends, and a wife."

Weiss sighed, then put on a small smile, "Speaking of Mother, how is she?"

"She's as well as ever. She still spends most of her time in the library, often with Winter flitting about around her. I swear that girl has more energy than a ton of dust crytstals."

Weiss nodded, "Sounds like normal."

Mr Schnee noticed the curiosity marked on Ruby's face. "My wife has always been sickly, quite unlike my daughters. She spends a large portion of her time reading, trying to expand her knowledge." Her laughed good-humouredly, "She is quite the encyclopaedia."

"So that's why Weiss is such a bookworm," Ruby thought aloud. Weiss glared at Ruby slightly, but could not deny hey comment.

"Yes, she used to spend a lot of her spare time in the library with her mother and Winter."

Weiss smiled slightly at the memories. Ruby noticed the smile, and was glad Weiss had stopped being angry and irritated by the conversation. The conversation continued for a little while, Mr Schnee giving little snippets of Weiss's life to Ruby, and Weiss either flushing at an embarrassing story, or at a story of a great achievement of hers that her father told proudly. Ruby was glad to have found out just that little bit more about her girlfriend. The odd story about daft things she had said when she was seven and of how proud her father was when Weiss won a junior fencing tournament were the exact things she wanted to hear, even if half of them made Weiss glare.

After about twenty minutes of that, Winter and Mr Clement returned, and after a little more chatter, the five rose and prepared to leave. It being nearly ten in the evening, Ruby and Weiss had to say hurried farewells and dash off for the last airship. Ruby was left with an image of Winter waving enthusiastically, Mr Clement chuckling to himself and Mr Schnee holding up a hand in farewell.

"Well, that went off all right I think," Ruby said as the two girls sat down on the airship, watching the night sky of Vale drift away in the distance.

"Compared to how it could have gone, yes."

Ruby beamed at Weiss, "Oh come on, it couldn't have gone much better, right?"

"We could be able to be public about it."

Weiss was looking somewhat depressed with the results, so Ruby smiled brightly at her, trying to cheer her up. "Come on, I'll be 16 in like, three months, then it's only another two years. Then we run off and get married, then tell your dad, and it's done."

"That's two and a quarter years of lying to everyone," Weiss still sounded upset, so Ruby subtly squeezed her hand behind their backs.

"Maybe something will come along that makes me famous of something, then your father will be all like 'That Ruby girl is really cool, you should totally marry her Weiss.'"

Weiss giggled a little, "Well you get working on that."

Ruby nodded, "I'll do my best, and become a famous huntress, then I'll steal you away if I have to."

"Is that a promise?"

Ruby nodded, "Whatever I have to do, I'll make sure to be by your side, you can bet on that."

"Thank you."

Ruby beamed, "My only condition is that you keep wanting me around."

"Of course," Weiss smiled, then leant against Ruby, closing her eyes.

"Hey, aren't we keeping this a secret?" Ruby glanced around. Fortunately, nobody was around.

"Then tell me if anyone shows up. Although they'll probably just think I fell asleep."

Ruby looked down at Weiss, who looked as though she really had fallen asleep. She would never say it to the heiress, but the resting face of the girl was adorable: seeing a normally refined visage at peace just made it all the cuter.

A young couple walked down the airship, coming near to them, and the moment Ruby noticed, she looked back at Weiss. "Weiss, people."

No response.

Ruby listened for a moment, and the slowed breathing told her everything she needed to know. Weiss had genuinely fallen asleep.

* * *

"So you got the contract?" Aelius asked Xin.

Xin nodded, "Yes, he seemed pretty desperate to get some people on it."

The two were sat in Aelius's office. Aelius passed a file to Xin. "Here are the plans then. You'll have Gamma Squad to work with, and Eleanor will be joining you. Galina and I will be heading to point T next week, ahead of your job, and we'll be taking Alpha Squad with us. We expect to begin the final operation on time."

Xin looked over the file, mentally noting the details. "Okay, I'll begin preparations tomorrow. Are there any other jobs we're taking in the next few weeks?"

"I've got Beta and Delta Squads on some routine jobs. We don't want to give the impression that something is up by suddenly refusing every job. They'll join us three days before we enter the final phase."

Xin nodded. "I see, then let's hope nobody catches on."

"Quite," Aelius replied.

* * *

Blake and Yang were not in the dorm when Ruby and a sleepy Weiss entered, much to their surprise. It was almost eleven in the evening, too late for the other girls to be out anywhere much. The library would have closed an hour ago, and the sparring arena an hour before that. Dinner was long past, so it was odd that the two were out.

Weiss immediately grabbed her pyjamas and stepped into the bathroom to change. Ruby got her things, and stood waiting, thinking about the day. Weiss's sister was really nice, and her father was... supportive, sort of.

Ruby did not know what to think of him, but in a sense she thought it did not matter. Sure, if he had threatened to disinherit Weiss, then there would have been a problem. But he was nice enough about everything, and to be honest, Ruby knew that Weiss would rather have kept their relationship quiet from the public anyway. The only thing that irritated Ruby about the man was his cold rational side, which she was in no doubt was largely the cause of Weiss's coldness of personality. The impersonal, logical side which had shown through had been enough to make Ruby slightly fearful of the man, she could only imagine what it had done to Weiss.

Weiss cam out of the bathroom, and Ruby went to change. When she came out, she saw Weiss had already got into bed, the covers pulled over her, and a book in her hands. Ruby went to climb up to her bed, but as she was about to, a hand tugged at her slacks. She looked down to where Weiss had put her book aside and had moved over, leaving room for a second person there. Ruby stared at her, Weiss unable to raise her gaze to meet her.

"You did well today, made a good impression. You deserve a reward," Weiss spoke with a flushed face.

Ruby nodded, then went over to turn the lights off, before climbing into bed beside her girlfriend. As she lay down, thin arms wrapped around her, and she felt Weiss pull close. Ruby could not help but grin from ear to ear as she shifted to face Weiss, and hugged her back.

"I love you Weiss."

Weiss did not respond, but that was okay. She would when she was ready, Ruby nuzzled closer, and both girls fell into a comfortable sleep.

* * *

"I just wish they wouldn't be as obvious about it."

"They only are to us because they trust us."

Yang sighed, "Well... it's just not top of my list of things I want to see."

Yang and Blake had returned, having spent the evening running at Yang's request, Blake suspecting that she did not want to see Weiss and Ruby when they returned. What they found when they returned did little to improve her mood.

The two were speaking in hushed tones, trying not to disturb the two on the bed.

"You know, it could be a lot worse. At least they're clothed." Blake smirked as Yang glared at her.

"Don't even joke about that. If they were, I would have chucked Weiss out the window."

"'Nude Heiress Defenestrated by Team-mate.' A tabloid field day."

Yang chuckled a little, "Doubt most of their readers know what 'defenestrated' means, or their writers for that matter."

Blake smirked, "Did you before just now?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Yang smiled a little, then started readying herself for bed, deliberately avoiding looking at Weiss's bed.

Blake knew it was still bothering Yang, but could do nothing to help, so did not even bother trying. Anything she said now would only make things worse. She would just have to have a word with Weiss about keeping things private, and especially out of Yang's sight. Although Blake had to admit that Ruby and Weiss looked cute together, cuddling each other in their sleep. She would never mention that to anyone though. Ruby and Weiss would be embarrassed and Yang would be Yang.

Yang had changed and was now climbing into her bunk. Blake decided there was nothing else to do but do the same. Changing quickly, she stepped out of the bathroom to see Yang had rolled over to face the wall, her back to the couple in Weiss's bed. Blake shrugged to herself. It was not unexpected. As she went over to her bed, she muttered a 'good night' to Yang, and lay down.

Weiss was really giving her a lot of work at the moment.

* * *

Blake dodged a punch from Yang, rolling to the side as her partner's fist split the air where her face had been just moments before. Blake took the chance to try a counter-attack, but Yang wheeled around, knocking the Blake's katana aside with her gauntlet, before going on the offensive once more.

The two had headed to the training arena early, again at Yang's suggestion. Yang was now taking out her frustration by hurling herself at Blake as hard as she could.

For most trained fighters, being angry in a fight would reduce their effectiveness. An angered fighter often threw out stronger, but less efficient attacks, which were often also less accurate. But in Yang's case, she had trained to fight while furious, and her anger just made her more deadly. A loss to her stamina meant little to Yang, who had plenty to spare, and when she threw out punches fast enough, she did not need to worry about their accuracy.

So far, their spar had been a gradual retreat for Blake, who kept having to give way to the brawler's punches. Stopping for even a second would be risky, so Blake seldom had a chance to attack back.

Blake summoned a clone, then attacked from both sides. Yang swung a fist right through the clone, shifting her weight so that she rolled past Blake's sword as the copy shattered. As she turned, Yang hurled a flaming fist towards Blake, who ducked back, only for the flames to ripple off Yang's fist and fly at the faunus.

Blake bent her back into a bridge, the flames passing over her stomach, then she kicked off with her feet, flipping over to land a little way from Yang.

"Wow Kitty, you've got some amazing moves."

Blake held her blade out, backhanding the sheath to defend with. "Don't you just know it. I'm very flexible."

"O~h I'd love to wrestle with you."

Blake smiled a little. Yang was acting like normal now, making all the inappropriate comments she could. "Well, I might have to take you up on that." Blake winked as she spoke.

"Is this kitty in heat or something?" Yang chuckled as flames began to ripple across her hair and her eyes switching between lilac and crimson with every blink. "I'd better finish this fast so we can do something about that."

Yang hurled herself at Blake, who ducked aside. Yang put out her left foot, skidding and lowering herself, putting her hand to the ground as she slowed near Blake. She pushed off with her left arm and leg, bawling her hand into a fist as she did so, and using her new momentum to swing at Blake.

Blake's blade swung down as Yang punched, blade and gauntlet meeting. The two put their strength into pushing the other back, and as Blake felt the heat from Yang's hair, she knew that she needed to break it off. Yang was physically stronger than anyone she knew, Blake would never be able to force her back.

Yang's other fist swung towards her, and Blake used the brief moment when Yang's left hand pressed less hard against her blade to step aside and duck, spinning on the floor, kicking out at Yang's legs.

Yang went down hard, and Blake took her chance to jump at the blonde, slashing down to place her blade at Yang's throat. Gauntleted hands stopped the blade, upturned to catch it. "Did you really think that would work Blake?"

"No, but this did."

Yang felt a sharp point at her throat, and glanced to the side to see Blake's sheath, the point of the blade-edge positioned at Yang's throat. "Uh... yeah, I guess it did."

"I win?"

"Yeah..." Yang frowned a little, but relaxed slightly, no longer in a combat mindset. "Well would you mind getting off me?"

Blake complied, sheathing her blade, and placing the weapon on her back. "There you go. Was that an acceptable training session?"

Yang got up and dusted herself off. Her hair had settled and her eyes returned to consistent lilac. "Sure. Now, I believe I have to help a cat in heat."

Yang had tried to make herself sound seductive, and put on a sexy pose, jutting out her hips slightly, and tilting her head as she stared at Blake. However, the dirt and scrapes on her made the whole thing ridiculous. Blake had to stifle a laugh, but returned the gaze, and smiled.

"Well, if you want to help me... calm down."

Yang sniggered, then burst out laughing. "Man, I can't get to you at all. Ruby of Weiss would have been bright red after the first comment. You are one of a kind Blake."

"What, the only person who can resist your _amazing_ charm?" Blake's voice was riddled with sarcasm.

"Well yes, everyone else is desperate for a piece of this," Yang indicated herself. "Or are you just playing hard to get? Hoping that will draw my eye."

"Oh please Yang," Blake turned away dismissively. "Now come on, we should go and clean up before lunch."

The two walked out of the arena, Yang smiling brightly for the first time in a while, and Blake silently walking a pace ahead of her. She made sure to keep ahead so that Yang would not see the very slight tinge to her cheeks.

'Why am I embarrassed? Whatever, I'll sort this out later. Right now I've got to focus on damage control for Ruby and Weiss.' Blake shoved whatever was embarrassing her to the back of her mind, mentally labelling it as 'To be dealt with later.'

* * *

The members of team RWBY sat around a table in the cafeteria eating lunch, Ruby and Weiss on one side, Yang and Blake on the other. Ruby and Weiss seemed to be sitting further apart than usual, which at first had confused Blake. Given the state they were in last night, the only reason she could imagine they would act like that was embarrassment, but that clearly was not it. Eventually, the reason became clear.

Ruby and Weiss explained over the meal that their relationship needed to remain secret to the public. That meant it had to remain a secret within Beacon. Hence, they were now consciously worried about how people would think about them, hence deliberately putting that little more distance between themselves at the table. It was stupid and pointless, but Blake thought it cute. Another thing to add to the list of thoughts she could never speak aloud to her team-mates.

"So," Yang asked. "What about team JNPR, you guys gonna let them in on the secret?"

"Uh..." Ruby and Weiss both glanced at each other.

"Well..." Weiss awkwardly began. "It's not that we don't trust them, but... Nora's a little... prone to accidentally say something she shouldn't."

"And Jaune's likely to say the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong person too," Ruby put in.

"So... yeah, keeping them in the dark for a little wouldn't hurt," Weiss finished. "Although it seems a little mean to Ren and Pyrrha. But Pyrrha would insist on telling Jaune."

The four returned to their meals, silence falling until the subjects of their conversation showed up, taking the table next to their own.

"Hey guys!" Nora was the first to speak. "How's it going?"

"Not bad," Ruby replied with a smile.

"Ruby, how's the wound? You gonna be fine for that tournament?" Jaune asked, looking a little concerned.

"It'll be fine, the doctor said I should be able to go back to regular physical activity in a week or so. I'll be back in the swing of things well before the tournament," Ruby waved off the concerns casually. "Besides, it wasn't that bad an injury, just a scratch."

"A scratch that had you unconscious for several hours." Weiss spoke with heavy sarcasm.

"Nah Weiss, I was just sleeping, ya know?"

"Of course."

Nora started chattering away, with the rest of JNPR putting in the odd comment here and there. Ruby, Weiss and Yang were swiftly drawn into the inane conversation as well. Blake just sat and watched.

As they were finishing their meals, Ren, sat next to her, leaned over to Blake, and asked quietly, "Is something up? Ruby and Weiss seem to be treating each other strangely, and Yang seems a little... off."

Blake sighed inwardly. Of course Ren would notice. "Some things came up, long story. Don't worry, it's all under control."

He raised an eyebrow, but did not ask further. He simply returned to his usual passive look, as Nora led the commotion that always occurred when the eight of them were together.

Blake just watched. 'Under control... well that wasn't a total lie, right?'

* * *

A/N: So that was that. I'm being slightly less evil this week, and not dropping in a cliffhanger ending. Next time we will have much date, many cute, wow.

In other news, I now have a blog! Yeah, exciting, isn't it? /sarcasm. But yeah, there's a link on my profile. I'll be spending my time talking about random stuff to do with writing, and anything else that comes to mind, so that is a thing. A large amount of what I say will likely be about my new book that I've begun work on, after deciding that my previous work will probably need a full rewrite, and massive amounts of rethinking. But yes, if you're interested, check it out. I'll be trying to update it once a week, on Fridays/Saturdays, and possibly a little more often if I have something interesting to say.

On another note, again, I'd like some opinions: first, my action scenes. The one this chapter was fairly short, but by now there have been a few. As the book I'm currently writing is a fantasy adventure, there will likely be a large number of combat scenes, so I need opinions on my writing for them. So, if you have any comments about them, they would be **very** useful to me, whether it's what you like about them, or what you don't like, whether it's about the style or the content.

Second, in this chapter especially, but also a little in the last one, I've skipped over various conversations that aren't important, for example, in this chapter where I describe what Mr Schnee says about Weiss's childhood, rather than write it out in full. The line I use is:

_The conversation continued for a little while, Mr Schnee giving little snippets of Weiss's life to Ruby, and Weiss either flushing at an embarrassing story, or at a story of a great achievement of hers that her father told proudly._

Now, my question is, does this come off okay? Or does it seem like laziness on my part, wanting to shorten the potentially extensive conversations? I mean, it is the fact that I don't want to write the whole thing out, as working a conversation so that it sounds natural, says everything you want, but doesn't involve you writing a bunch of pointless stuff to connect it together, is hard. So, what do people think of doing that? I won't be constantly going 'and then they have a conversation about this thing,' regardless, and equally sometimes you have to, but is the amount I have been using it appropriate?

Yeah, so, with all of that said, until next time.

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Weiss was nervous in a way she had never been before.

It was different from when she had been preparing to tell her father about herself and Ruby. Different from when she had first given a public speech. Different from when she had taken the entrance exams for Beacon, not that they had been hard at all, but until she got there she thought they might be. No, this was totally different.

These were first-date nerves. That feeling of worry, about whether she would screw something up big time. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, this mattered less than those other times when she had felt nervous, but to her this mattered far more than anything else in the world ever could. Well, maybe excluding their future wedding day if they ever got that far, but that would not be happening if she messed up tonight.

The calmer, more rational part of Weiss kept telling her 'It'll be fine, Ruby will forgive you if something does go wrong.' It was not helping, but Weiss thought it was nice of her common sense to have a go at calming her down. Around Ruby and Yang, common sense usually just made her more worried.

She was, at the peak of her worries, sat on her bed trying to concentrate on a book. She was still looking into the trick she had found with dust, where she had managed to transform time-dust into wind. Now with a better idea of what she was looking for, she was making a little more headway. But with her current nerves, it was only a little.

She still had an hour until they were leaving, and was now by herself. Yang and Blake had gone out for more training, and Ruby had said she needed to do a couple of things before they left. What Ruby had actually meant was that she had yet to finish a piece of homework. Weiss had noticed that she had not quite completed it on Friday, but not for want of trying, so she said nothing. Ruby no doubt feared that Weiss would be angry if she did not finish it, and so was taking the chance to do it.

A little white lie. Weiss did not mind it, as long as Ruby managed to do the work. It was all just to avoid Weiss getting angry anyway, and no harm would come of it. Weiss was not worried about _that_.

It was Yang's sudden desire to train constantly, barely being in the dormitory except to sleep, that worried Weiss. Weiss knew what it was: Yang was avoiding her. It hurt a little bit, but it would have been less painful if Yang were not also avoiding Ruby as a reult. Partly just because the couple spent so much more time together now, and partly by design it seemed, Yang was keeping away from her sister. It pissed Weiss off to no end. The last thing the heiress wanted was to tear the two apart.

She kept trying to concentrate on her book, gradually making headway: _'Alfred Heinz proposed it may be possible to convert dust between types, by triggering a node that is inactive, or deactivating a node which is active. It was then discovered that this was what happened when dust was mixed. Practice of this technique allowed for a form of dust with no active nodes to be created: time-dust.'_

'I know all of this.' Weiss glared at the book, now simply scanning it, not really paying attention to the words until something caught her eye.

_'It was theorised that, by putting time-dust through a crystal of another type of dust that this would trigger the activation of the corresponding nodes in the time-dust, transforming the time-dust to the type of the crystal, allowing for a caster to carry only one kind of dust, and a small collection of crystals, and gain much more versatility. This technique, known as 'lensing' was repeatedly tested, and somewhat refined, however no user could perform it without succumbing to exhaustion after relatively little dust had been used.'_

On the page with that paragraph was a diagram, labelled as the 'ideal' crystal for use with lensing. Weiss could see where the name came from: the crystal looked like a lens: it was a slightly flattened oval shape from the top, and roughly circular from a side-view. Weiss had seen one before: in that mage's hand.

"Well, at least we can be certain now. Next question: who has dust fused to every surface of their skin so that they could use that much power in the first place?" She asked, to nobody in particular.

* * *

Aelius looked out over Vale, out of the window in his office. The AEGX HQ was on the outskirts of Vale, a tall, but otherwise plain building to look at. His golden eyes scanned the city, catching on the occasional landmark, taking in the city in all its mixed glory.

A knock sounded on the door, and Galina entered. She bowed slightly, "Colonel... I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

Aelius turned, and shook his head. "Nothing important. I was just taking a good look at the city. I won't be seeing this Vale again if all goes to plan."

She nodded, "I see... all troops are ready to leave tomorrow as ordered."

"Good, good." He nodded, seeming distracted. "Thank you Captain."

Galina had noticed the distraction on her commander's face, but said nothing. Nothing needed to be asked, nothing needed to be said. She bowed, and left.

Aelius took a seat at his desk, and stared up at the ceiling. Absent-mindedly, he raised his left arm, seeming to grasp at the ceiling. His sleeve slid down, revealing a single scar, running down from wrist to elbow, the only mark on otherwise plain white skin.

"See you soon Aetha..." he muttered to himself.

* * *

Weiss's nerves had almost reached breaking point.

She was supposed to meet Ruby at the airport in about fifteen minutes. She was already there. This was not out of any fear of being late, but more just that she could not find what to do with herself, and had ended up leaving much earlier than she needed to. Now she was sat on a bench at the front of the airport, waiting.

They had agreed to meet at the airport to make it feel more like a date, though Weiss still found it a little silly, but Ruby had insisted, and just this once Weiss had let it go.

'What am I going to do for another quarter of an hour?' She stared at the floor.

"Weiss?"

The girl looked up at the sound of her name, to see Ruby standing there, mouth slightly open in surprise.

"Ruby?"

"You came early too?"

"I... yeah..."

Both girls stared at each other for a moment, then both faces broke into smiles, and laughter rang out from the pair.

"Well, since we're both here, and our airship doesn't leave for another twenty minutes," Weiss indicated the bench. "Shall we chat?"

Ruby sat down, beaming at her girlfriend. "So... shall we do the whole first date intro thing?"

"Okay, you first?"

Ruby nodded, then coughed dramatically, "Hello, I'm Ruby Rose, I'm a first year at Beacon. I like hunting grimm, running, and beautiful girls with ponytails." Ruby grinned, "Your turn."

"I am Weiss Schnee. I attend Beacon Academy, and am heiress to my father's company. I enjoy reading, fencing, and have a preference for lovable idiots." Weiss took Ruby's hand and kissed it, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rose."

Both girls stared at each other, then broke out into laughter again.

"Wow Weiss, the whole hand-kissing thing, so suave."

"Well I'm not the one who listed 'hunting' as a hobby."

"Okay, maybe we're both bad at this."

"Well I for one haven't had any practice at it."

"Me neither," Ruby replied, giggling. "Though I don't intend to ever do that again."

Weiss nodded, "I should hope not." She smirked, "So, Miss Rose, you said you liked beautiful girls with ponytails. Could you give me any more specifics?"

"Well Miss Schnee, I am particularly fond of single, off-centre tails. They give a wonderfully imbalanced elegance to a girl. I also distinctly like those wonderful imperfections a girl can have on her face, like a pretty little scar, let us say for example, over her eye," Ruby grinned. "It would be the perfect imperfection. So how about you: lovable idiots? Tell me more."

"You know, I'd really like a lovable idiot who would do stupid things just to protect me, just as long as she doesn't get too badly hurt. She'd also need just the right amount of warmth to melt this icy girl that is me. Then of course, she'd also need to be strong and courageous, and most of all kind."

The two girls stared at one another, their eyes unable to break away, both of their cheeks tinting red.

"_The next airship to Vale will leave in five minutes. Please would all passengers board now."_

The announcement cut through the silence the girls were enshrouded in. Their eyes finally tore away from one another, and Weiss stood hurriedly, "We should go..."

"Uh-huh." Ruby quietly stood and the two walked towards the platform.

* * *

Aelius had gone back _there_. With only 18 hours until they left until he turned his back on Vale, he had decided he needed to make one last visit.

He walked the familiar path, stone markers on each side, with figures of angels, and other beings of myth. Some held dust crystals, infused into the rock of the stones, often forming the writing on the slabs. Each marked a grave, a life, a death.

The graveyard was quiet, Aelius could see nobody else around. Nobody else was visiting the dead that day. He did not blame them. It was a Sunday, a day of rest, of relaxation for most, but to him it was a last goodbye.

He stopped at the marker that he was there for, his feet halting automatically, without him having to check the place. He turned to gaze down at the stone, a rectangular slab of granite. Engraved in shining golden letter of dust was the inscription:

_Here Lies Aetha Krios  
Taken before her time.  
RIP_

The dates marked a 14-year life: cut short indeed.

Aelius knelt, and placed his hand on the stone, closing his eyes. As his hand touched it, the golden letters seemed to glow a little more brightly.

"Hey sis. How's it going?" Opening his eyes and looking at the stone, he smiled sadly. "I'm doing well. Everything went according to plan, I'll be seeing you soon. Just a little longer." He stood, and looked down at the stone. "I came to say goodbye... wait, that's the wrong way of putting it." He smiled, "See you soon."

Footsteps sounded on the path which he had come on, and he looked round to see Xin walking towards him. "Hey."

Aelius smiled at his friend, "Hello to you too."

"Galina said you'd stepped out."

"And you thought I'd be here?"

Xin chuckled, "Where else would you be?" He looked down at the grave, and frowned, "It's been three years now..."

Aelius nodded, "Three years since I messed up for the last time."

"Never more." Xin spoke the words they had both said countless times.

"Quite."

Xin nodded. "Tell me Aelius, how come you never cried?"

Aelius looked quizzically at Xin, "What do you mean?"

"The day she died, you tore her killers apart, but you shed only blood, not tears." Xin spoke calmly, his words lacking emotion. "Why was that?"

"Blood is thicker than water."

"That's not what that means."

"I know. Honestly? I don't know." Aelius looked down at his sister's grave once more. "But shedding tears won't help, shedding blood might."

Xin nodded, "Now, my friend, I suppose I will only have to offer you my spear once more."

Aelius nodded, "Just once."

"Then 'til we finish this, my spear is yours."

"Thank you, Xin Hua."

"My pleasure, Aelius Krios."

* * *

"Well I'm guessing dinner is included." Weiss was trying to guess the location that Ruby was taking her. "So a restaurant is presumably involved."

"Maybe," Ruby was deliberately not telling Weiss, not even willing to drop a hint as the two girls walked towards the secret destination.

"Given we're walking, it can't be too much further, and from the direction we've been walking... that still leaves a lot of options."

Ruby giggled, "You'll never guess it."

"I'm not sure if that worries me or not. It's not a bar is it?"

"No! I'm not Yang."

"A noodle bar?"

"No! It's a place you wouldn't mind being in... unless you've suddenly become a lot more snobby since the last time I checked."

"What is _that _supposed to mean?"

"Uh..." Ruby faltered as Weiss glared at her. "Um... you have dignity, and I wouldn't ever want to submit you to something that would hurt that dignity, because it's all fair enough really, and when I said 'more snobby' you can have more than nothing right? And please stop glaring Weiss, it scares me."

Weiss sighed, then put her nose in the air. "Well of course I have dignity. When one is as refined as I am, one can't go around doing things which are beneath oneself."

Ruby stared at her for a moment, before Weiss cracked a smile. Ruby sighed with relief, her mistake apparently forgiven.

"But seriously, how much further is it?"

"Not far," Ruby replied. "Just there in fact."

She pointed, and Weiss's gaze followed. Weiss blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

"Really?"

"You don't like it?"

"No, I'm just surprised you'd think of something like that."

"Well... I had it recommended once."

The two walked up to the building. It claimed to be a 'Restaurant-Theatre.' The idea was vaguely familiar to Weiss, though not this particular establishment. You ate dinner, and watched a play. Quite a decent business plan really. There was a charge on entry, which seemed excessive, but the food was usually relatively cheap for its quality to compensate. Glancing at a menu by the entrance, Weiss saw that it was the case here.

"So what's the play?"

"It's a Romance, 'Romeo and Cinderella.'"

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "I think I've heard about that one, but wasn't it Romeo and... what was the name again? I thought it began with a J."

Ruby shrugged, "It's got good reviews, and I thought it sounded appropriate."

Weiss nodded, and smiled, relieved that Ruby had managed something different, but not ridiculous. "Well, shall we head in?"

"Right!" Ruby pulled out two tickets, and they stepped inside.

"Okay... this is really cool," Ruby was gazing around, eyes lighting up every now and again, while Weiss looked on amused.

The pair were sat at one of a number of round tables in a lowered area in front of the stage. There were maybe three or four dozen tables in all, in varying sizes, about half of which were currently occupied. Each was set up so that the diners were around one side, all looking at the stage. On each table was an electronic device for ordering, so that one could order without disturbing others while they were watching the play. Weiss had to admire how well the whole thing was put together.

The play itself was due to start in half an hour, and the girls started examining the menu.

"Oh? Filet mignon? Isn't that supposed to be really amazing?" Ruby was thoroughly surprised by the extensive menu. She had not heard of half the things on there.

"It's overrated," Weiss replied, glancing over the menu with much less excitement. Many of the names she recognised, and knew they were only using the names so sound exciting, and hike the price up for the uneducated. "I'd just go with something you're familiar with, there's nothing unusual that looks any good."

Ruby frowned a little, "I was hoping to have something I hadn't had before, but I trust you with your posh food."

Weiss giggled, "Trust me, a lot of the things on here only sound posh. Oh, rabbit, now that is nice."

"But how can you eat something so cute?" Ruby pouted slightly.

"Because it's tasty." Weiss smiled, then leaned over, and whispered in Ruby's ear "Besides, you're cute, and one day..." she leaned back and watched as Ruby at first looked confused, then understood what Weiss was suggesting and flushed bright red.

"You're not meant to talk about that sort of stuff on a first date," Ruby was staring at her lap, trying to avoid Weiss's gaze.

"Since when were we conventional?"

"Has Yang been rubbing off on you or something?" Ruby asked, raising her gaze to glare at her partner.

"You all have a little. A certain someone in particular." Weiss glanced pointedly at Ruby. "But yes, all of you. Now come on, choose something."

The food, when it arrived, was quite good all-in-all. Weiss had ordered the rabbit, while Ruby still could not bring herself to eat something so adorable, so went for pork instead. As for the play, it was neither the best nor the worst Weiss had ever seen. The actors were a little off in places, but not so much that it distracted one from the story.

Not that the story was exactly original: a pair of lovers, the girl's parents did not like the boy, they runaway, get married, end of play. Good lines, but the plot left something to be desired. Not that Weiss was expecting the finest work, and as the backdrop for a date, it served its purpose, though she could have done without it resembling her previous fears for her and Ruby's relationship.

Ruby seemed to enjoy it, and during the interval went on about how good it was. Weiss decided not to put a dampener on the girl's high spirits, and did not bother bringing up the flaws in it.

After two hours, the play drew to a close, and the audience began to leave. Ruby babbled about how romantic it had been, while Weiss just kept nodding, a small smile on her face. The evening had been pleasant, but something was still bothering her a little. As the girls left the building, she decided to voice her confusion.

"So... I was wondering Ruby," Weiss cut the younger girl off, mid-way through her discussing how it was really sweet of the main guy to rescue the main girl from her parents. "You said something about that place being special, but... I mean it was different, but I don't quite see 'special.'"

Ruby closed her mouth and looked embarrassed, staring at the ground as they walked. "Well... you know how I said it was recommended?"

"Yes."

"Dad mentioned it once... it was the first place he took Mum..."

Ruby was bright red, and Weiss stood stunned for a moment. "So that's why... like father like daughter eh? Well your father has good taste, that's for sure."

Ruby glanced nervously up at Weiss. "You mean that?"

"Yes Ruby, I had fun tonight. Your plan for a first date was a success. I give you permission to start planning the next one."

Ruby leaped at Weiss, wrapping her arms around her, "Weiss! OhmygodIloveyousomuch!"

"Ruby, there are people around!" They had got some distance from the theatre, and the crowd had thinned to only a few, but Weiss was still conscious of those who were there.

"Pfff... they'll just think I'm an excessively excited friend," Ruby blew it off with ease, and hugged Weiss tighter.

"Ruby, if you don't get off this moment..." Ruby released her before she finished her threat. "...I'll... er..."

"It probably involves taking my cookies away, or no hugs for a month, or something equally cruel," Ruby pouted. "And I know you follow up on your threats."

Weiss was still confused, but accepted this. Maybe she would eventually get Ruby house-trained, and possibly even trained for when they went out in public. Weiss scolded herself 'She's not a dog. Although...'

A picture of Ruby with dog ears and tail appeared in Weiss's mind. Dog-Ruby was on all fours, smiling stupidly, and wagging her tail as Weiss fed her cookies, then snuggling up to Weiss when they were done. 'Best dog ever.'

"Weiss, is something wrong?"

"Er... no, nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"It's really nothing, something stupid just crossed my mind."

Ruby looked deeply worried, "You? Something stupid? Are you ill? Have you been spending too much time with me, so my stupid thoughts have infected you? We should get you to a doctor!"

"Ruby! I am fine." Weiss felt as though she was talking to a two-year-old.

"If you're sure," Ruby pouted, put out that Weiss would not tell her what this 'something' was, but did not ask any further.

"Seriously Ruby, I just thought of something silly. If anything, it's more likely Yang rubbing off on me again."

Ruby giggled, "Okay. So, you had fun you said?"

"Yes."

"How much fun?"

Weiss raised a brow, then leaned over to Ruby, whispering into the girl's ear. "Best. Day. Ever." She quickly leaned in and placed a peck on her girlfriend's cheek, then withdrew, leaving Ruby bright red.

"Th-thanks... I guess."

"Come on, we'd better get going or we'll miss the next airship."

"Right..." Ruby nodded and, still flustered, followed Weiss.

* * *

"We're back!" Ruby called out as she entered the dorm room, Weiss just behind her.

"Hey sis!" Yang smiled down at her little sister from her bunk. "Guess what arrived?"

"What?"

"A letter from Uncle Qrow."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd wait until you got back to open in."

The two sisters began opening the letter, while Weiss went over to where Blake was putting aside her book. "Everything all right?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, Yang's been a little more perky today. How was your end?"

"Good," was Weiss's only reply, looking round, she saw Ruby and Yang with their letter. Both had acquired serious faces all of a sudden, which scared Weiss. She walked over to Ruby, and tapped her on the shoulder, "Something up?"

"Apparently Dad was injured in a hunt... he's pretty badly beaten up and going to be out of action for a month or so," Ruby looked worried.

"I see..." Weiss had little else to say to that.

"Uncle Qrow says that we should visit if we can. But..." Ruby glanced up at Weiss and bit her lip, and Weiss just smiled back kindly.

"He's right, you should go. As you're still recovering yourself Ruby, you won't be missing too much training anyway."

"We should go and talk to Ozpin," Yang said. "I want to get going as soon as possible."

"Right!" Ruby smiled a little at Weiss, "See you later..."

The sisters left the room, and Weiss slowly wandered over and sat on her bed, staring into space.

"It's okay not to want her to leave," Blake spoke across the room, lain back on the bed, staring up at Yang's bunk. "You did only just start dating her."

"But it's her father, she should go, it would be selfish of me to..."

"Which is why you won't act on what you want." Blake looked over and smiled. "Just don't get cut-up over things you want but aren't going to do, 'kay?"

Weiss nodded. "I'm not meant to be this empathic am I?"

"Nope, but nobody's complaining."

Weiss giggled, "Yeah, I'm not surprised."

"So tell me, did your date make you able to answer _that_ question yet?"

"Which one?"

"Do you love Ruby?"

Weiss smiled, looking at her knees. "Ask me tomorrow."

"Will that be your answer tomorrow as well?"

"Probably."

Blake nodded, then picked up her book once more, about to return to where she left off.

"What about you?"

The question surprised Blake, who looked over to Weiss, who was now staring up at the ceiling, and deliberately not at Blake.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Is there anyone you're in love with?"

Blake stared at Weiss, who returned the gaze. Blue eyes and golden, each trying to read the emotions behind the other.

"Not quite yet," Blake replied.

"Oh? Who will it be then?"

Blake smirked, "If you can't work that out, then you disappoint me."

"Since you broke it off with Sun, I can only think of one."

Blake chuckled, "Yeah, then let's leave it there."

"Sure... sounds fair."

"Well with any luck everything will go our ways."

Weiss nodded, "Let's hope they both make good girlfriends. Though now that I think about it, when you just told me it was all right to want her to stay, who were you trying to convince?"

Blake did not reply, simply returning her full attention to her book. Weiss smiled at her friend. As ever, Weiss had it right, of course.

* * *

A/N: Oh the references, count 'em and weep.

So, yeah, have a date chapter... with some serious stuff alongside. This would have been done a little bit sooner, but we had some technical problems... yes 'we' for now I have this awesome proofreader person. Yes, that's right! I have someone slaving away for me, with only the promise of getting to see the new chapter a day or so before everyone else, it is a beautiful plan, so beautiful I think I need to have an evil laugh, mwahahaha. Heck I'm so giddy I might do a pirouette later, when nobody is watching...

But yes, in all seriousness, many thanks to CBV for proofreading. If you see any mistakes, it is now officially their fault, so you don't need to blame me. But yeah, we had some technical issues with transferring the DocX files... I'm not sure what it was exactly, they were on the other end from me.

But yes, so, how will the girls cope while they are separated? Will Mr Long be okay? Will Eternity ever stop just hinting at Bumblebee and actually get around to making them kiss? Find out the answers to some of these questions next time on Pink like Posies.

Also, I really should have come up with a better story title than a bad joke related to a song name... well I suck.

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Tuesday evening had rolled around, and the four members of team RWBY were by the Vale dockside, waiting for the sisters' boat to signal. Classes had ended just over an hour ago, and the four of them had hurried over immediately after. The sisters would be gone until Sunday evening, meaning 5 days away from Beacon.

Some people were taking the imminent separation better than others.

"Make sure you call me when you get there!" Weiss repeated for what Ruby was sure was at least the tenth time in the last hour.

"I will, and every day." Ruby smiled weakly, but Weiss had been doing this for the whole day, only letting up during class, and then passing the odd note anyway. On the one hand, Ruby was happy that Weiss was so worried, on the other it was starting to get just a tiny bit repetitive.

"And don't eat too many cookies, and do try to stay rested, you're not meant to be doing anything too physically active this week still."

"Weiss, I know," Ruby beamed at her. "I'll be fine, I managed to survive the first fifteen years before I met you, I can manage not to get myself killed for five days without you."

"Yes you managed fifteen years, but if you get hurt now it's my problem!" Weiss looked at her feet, "So... you know... be careful... come back to me in one piece."

Ruby hugged the heiress, "Will do!"

Yang and Blake were chatting a little distance from the couple, close enough that they clearly belonged, but far enough to give the two a little space.

"So how are you going to survive without me for a whole five days?" Yang asked. "You won't get a look at _this_ for nearly a week." As she spoke drew her hands out to indicated herself.

"I think I'll survive. I'm more worried about those two being all mopy for the duration."

Yang chuckled, "Well you take care of yourself... and Weiss."

"I'll try."

"Just don't let her wilt and die. If anyone or anything is going to kill that girl, it'll be me."

Blake smiled at that. Yang had said it as a definite joke that time. The blonde finally seemed to be accepting the relationship between Ruby and Weiss. Blake suspected the time away and the prospect of Ruby having to depend on Yang for the duration were helping the situation.

"I'll do my best, though no promises. If she starts whining about being lonely, I might have to do her in myself."

A horn sounded from the ship, signalling it would be leaving soon, and the sisters grabbed up their packs, then turned to their partners once more.

"Take care," Weiss said as she and Ruby hugged. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Ruby gave Weiss a quick peck on the cheek, then they broke off the hug.

Next to them, Yang bear-hugged Blake, "See ya later kitty."

"'Til Sunday."

"Yeah, laters!" Yang released the girl, and the two sisters hurried off to their boat, waving at their partners as they ran.

"So... it'll be just the two of us for a while," Blake said as she turned to Weiss.

Weiss was staring after the sisters, at the last point where she had seen a red cloak vanish around a corner. "Oh great... I miss her already."

Blake glanced back to where she had lost sight of the sisters. "I can't exactly blame you." Blake smiled, "But you know, we can spend some time doing quiet things, without our favourite distractions for once."

Weiss giggled, "So... pyjama book party?"

Blake smirked, "Totally."

* * *

The book party was a quiet affair, unsurprisingly. Blake was genuinely finding the chance to make headway in her pile of books pleasant. Weiss was finding it unnerving.

Normally, she would sit down with a book, and within ten minutes, Ruby would start asking questions:

"What're you reading Weiss?"

"Weiss, can you help with my homework?"

"Weiss, will you come and train with me?"

Now that there were no questions forthcoming, it just made Weiss feel weird. One could apparently get used to the strangest things.

Every so often, she would glance at her scroll, hoping that it would ring, signalling Ruby's call. But silence reigned. Eventually, the break from the silence came from Blake.

"Hey, Weiss, you wanna go get dinner soon?"

"Eh?" Weiss had been staring at her scroll again. Blake's words startled her and she stared at the faunus for a moment. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Dinner? Soon?"

"Uh... sure..."

Blake frowned, "It's been an hour or so, is it really getting to you already?"

Weiss frowned, "Just a bit..."

"You really are hopeless."

Weiss frowned, "I know... I know..."

"Well she's probably missing you just as much."

Weiss sighed, "That just makes it worse..."

"Really? If she didn't miss you then you'd be okay with it?"

"You know what I mean."

"No, I don't."

Weiss stared at the faunus, and her words began to click into place, and Weiss understood what she wanted to say.

"I'm sure Yang will miss you as well."

"Really? I'm not so sure."

Weiss smiled, "I'm pretty sure she depends on you a lot more than you think. Who else would stop her from going overboard?"

Blake gave a light laugh at that. "I suppose... well with any luck they'll both survive without us. Now come on, we need to survive too, which means eating."

"Yeah..." Weiss pulled herself up, then slipped her scroll into her pocket, before making her way down to dinner with Blake.

* * *

Dinner had been quiet, at least until team JNPR joined them. Weiss and Blake had somehow extracted themselves from the madness that was Nora, and left after eating. Blake had gone to the library, while Weiss sat in their dorm room, trying to focus on some work, but really just constantly gazing at her scroll.

'They should have arrived by now... what's the hold-up?' Weiss tried to drag her attention back to the essay on grimm habits she was writing, but whenever she wrote a sentence, her mind would wander mid-way through. 'How can I be acting like this, it's like I'm some idiot in love, and I am definitely not an idiot.'

Weiss finally managed to force herself to focus on what she was doing, and managed to write a few paragraphs. As ever when waiting for something, the moment she stopped paying attention to it, her scroll rang.

In a second she had dropped her pen, grabbed her scroll, and pressed the button to receive the call. "Hello?"

"_Weiss? That was fast."_

Ruby's voice through the scroll was music to Weiss's ears, and a balm to her soul. "Yeah, well I was just working on that essay Professor Port set us today, so I was desperate for something else to do." That was not a complete lie at least.

_Ruby seemed to buy the excuse, "Well we've arrived. I would have called you sooner, but Uncle Qrow had dinner ready for when we arrived, so we went straight to that, and there was no chance to leave politely... ya know, first time we've seen each other in months, had to do a little catching up."_

"Fair enough. Was the journey all right?"

"_Yeah, pretty boring, except Yang was somehow managing to make a lot of bad jokes about everything... or 'aboat' everything as she put it..."_

Weiss's face contorted a little at the joke, "That sounds... disheartening."

"_I'm just glad she's in a good mood again."_

"Yeah..." Weiss did not want to talk about that issue. "But anyway, have you had a chance to see your father yet?"

"_No, he's still in hospital and we arrived too late to go visit. We'll be going to see him tomorrow morning. Apparently he's out of any danger though."_

"That's a relief..."

"_By the way, Weiss... we didn't get the chance to talk about this, what should I say to Dad about... us."_

Weiss paused to consider the question. It was a tough one, but needed an answer. "Tell him as much as you think sensible. He deserves to know. Although... I'm a little worried."

"_Don't worry, Dad's, like, super-non-judgemental."_

"I can imagine, but I think he knew my father once, and well... people who know my father seldom get a good impression."

"_Eh? They know each other?"_

"I think so. Uncle mentioned something about it to me at the opening. Sorry for not mentioning it before, it just slipped my mind what with everything that happened."

"_That's totally not your fault, don't worry about it. Strange though, it's a small world eh?"_

"I suppose so."

"_So anyway, how's it going without us around? You missing me yet?"_

'More than you can imagine.' "It's been quiet. I've been able to make some good headway on my dust research."

"_A~w, you're supposed to say you miss me more than you can imagine, or something like that."_

'Does this girl read minds or something?' "Okay, okay, I do miss you, idiot."

"_I'm kinda glad... though not that you're sad, I mean, I'm just glad 'cause it means you really are happy when I'm around, and that makes me happy."_

From across the line, Weiss heard another female voice, she suspected Yang's, calling out to Ruby.

"_Coming! Sorry Weiss, I need to go."_

"Okay, well I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"_Sure, after dinner good?"_

"Yeah. Well, goodbye for now."

"_Okay, bye bye, love ya!"_

Ruby cut the call, and Weiss stared at the scroll. 'That idiot cut it off before I could reply... idiot.'

Weiss stared up at the ceiling, and smiled to herself. "I love you too Ruby."

* * *

Day 1. Mood: lonely. Situation: moping about waiting for Ruby to return.

Weiss stared blankly at the board as the lecturer took them through some dust-related topic. She knew the stuff like the back of her hand, but that was not the reason she had stopped paying attention.

'I love you.'

Finally, she had said it. True, Ruby had not heard it, but at least now she could voice it. It was the case, she loved Ruby Rose. Perhaps not passionately and madly, but she definitely loved the girl. Facing being apart, even for such a short time, had taught her that. She had never missed anyone so much: not her family, not any friends, no-one.

Blake had spaced out next to her, the faunus clearly pining for her own partner. Blake still had not said it directly, but Weiss knew that Blake had something for Yang. Those feelings were also being drawn out by their separation.

Weiss kept her eye in the direction of the lecturer, not really taking the woman in, or even hearing a word she said. All Weiss wanted was to get to the end of the day so that Ruby would call her again.

"That's all for this lesson. Make sure you all turn in your homework by Friday."

At the lecturer's words, the class began to leave. Weiss and Blake both sluggishly picked up their things, and headed towards the canteen for lunch.

"When will this week end?" Weiss asked as the pair left the lecture theatre.

"About 100 hours... we can last..." Blake had a sullen look on her face. "But dammit I need a terrible joke right now."

"It saddens me that the dessert section will still have cookies when we get there."

"I need someone to mope at me about their friends' relationships."

"Really?"

Blake shrugged, "It helps to pass the time."

Weiss sighed, "Well anyway, let's look on the bright side... er... what was the bright side again?"

"Peace and quiet?"

"Overrated."

"A chance to do some work?"

"I'll spend next week helping Ruby catch up, net loss I reckon."

"Uh... I dunno, not having to hide the cookies and not having to clean up rose petals?"

"Let's go with that. So yeah, let's be glad we don't have to do either of those things."

"Have you even moved the cookies?" Blake asked.

"No I haven't wanted to eat any."

"Come to think of it, we should probably clean anyway, while those two aren't around to make a mess as we're cleaning..."

"Blake, stop ruining my silver lining!"

The two girls managed to make it to the canteen, get their food, and collapse at a table. As Weiss dejectedly reached for her fork to start eating, her scroll buzzed. She took it out, and found she had received a message from Ruby.

Instantly her eyes lightened up, and she checked the message's contents.

_'Hey Weiss. I talked to Dad about us and he seemed cool about it. He was a bit surprised when I said who you were, but he was fine about everything. Talk to you later.'_

"Something good?" Blake asked, having noticed Weiss's eagerness.

"It's from Ruby. Apparently her father is completely fine with our relationship... I have to say I'm a little relieved."

"You thought there'd be a problem?"

"I feared there would be. But, realistically, anyone who could raise Ruby and Yang would have to be incredibly open-minded."

Blake chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose so."

The two girls ate, silence surrounding them until it was suddenly broken, in possibly the second most typical way the girls were used to.

"Hello!" Nora's excited call alerted the pair to the approaching team JNPR.

"Well there goes the peace and quiet," Weiss muttered as she and Blake turned to the four approaching students.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Pyrrha asked as the four seated themselves at the table next to Weiss and Blake.

"Quietly... or rather it was..." Weiss replied, shooting a brief glare at Nora. "But yes, no Ruby and Yang means it's been quite peaceful."

"It must be a bit boring without those two around though," Jaune said as he took his seat next to Pyrrha. "I mean, with them around it can't often be boring."

"No... 'boring' is definitely not the word for either of them," Blake replied with a smirk.

Jaune and Pyrrha nodded knowingly, as Nora went off on a lengthy talk in Ren's direction. Ren for his part just sat there, starting on his meal before it got cold.

The conversation continued, with the recent lectures, upcoming tests, and the tournament in a few weeks each getting a mention. Through all of it, Weiss and Blake both managed to forget their feelings of loneliness, if only briefly.

"I'm totally going to fail that test on dust..." Jaune sadly sighed. "I just don't get it at all."

"It's really simple, I don't get what you find so hard about it," Weiss replied with a disparaging look.

"Well I'm sorry that I wasn't brought up with it all around me," Jaune sighed again. "But seriously it's insanely hard."

"It's also insanely useful," Pyrrha pointed out. "I wish I could use dust."

"You can't? I suppose I never saw you use any. How come you never learned?" Jaune asked.

"Low compatibility. I was born not to be good at it," Pyrrha shrugged. "At least, not good enough for it to be time-efficient in a fight."

"I see..." Jaune mused. "How does that work again?"

"Some people are good with dust, some aren't, that do?" Weiss put in. "Seriously, we covered this in detail in class, how can you not remember?"

"Er... you know, it didn't seem important."

"And what if you're fighting someone who can use dust?"

Jaune frowned, "Well I'd hope I won't have to fight people anyway, but if I did I don't imagine thinking 'oh this guy must have high compatibility' is really going to help more than 'this guy can throw fireballs at me.'"

Weiss realised she had reached a new low: Jaune was being sarcastic to her. "Well see how far that gets you. Anyway, if you would excuse me," Weiss stood, "I need to go to the library."

"See you later!" Pyrrha called out after Weiss's retreating form.

* * *

Evening arrived again, and Weiss sat staring at her scroll. Ruby would be calling soon, and she needed to hear the girl's voice. She had once again made a pretence to herself of working, only to spend so long staring at her scroll that she gave up the attempt. Blake had once again disappeared shortly after dinner.

'Come on Ruby, it's nearly 8.30, you must have finished eating by now.'

Weiss continued to silently urge the scroll to ring, and when it finally did, she wanted to immediately pick up, the same way she had the day before, but now she was more sedate, forcing herself to slowly pick it up, then let it ring a few times before accepting the call.

"Hello?"

"_Weiss! How's it going?"_

"Acceptably."

"_Well that's... okay I guess. Why only acceptably?"_

'Because you're across a sizeable body of water,' Weiss thought to herself. "Well you know, without you two around I have nobody to scold."

"_A~w, really, is that all I'm good for?"_

"Of course not you dolt." Weiss noticed the hint of tenderness which had crept into her voice. "I'm just bored with nobody talking my ear off. It seems as though I've grown accustomed to background noise."

"_I'm... not sure if that's some sort of compliment or not."_

"Pretend it is and let's move on."

"_Okay."_

Weiss smiled. This was what she needed, every hour of every day: Ruby being the loveable idiot who had stolen away Weiss's heart. She was quite relieved that Ruby could not see the joy and embarrassment painted on her face.

"So, how was your father?"

"_Surviving. He was about as badly injured as he could be without his vitals being harmed. He got lucky though, and everything missed the important areas."_

"And... what exactly did he say about us?"

Ruby hesitated briefly, soliciting a frown from Weiss. Ruby would only hesitate if something was wrong, so what was it?

"_Well, you know how I said he was surprised it was you... when I told him your name, he looked shocked, and said something about... er, 'That Bastard Schnee's girl.'"_

'Still not the least polite mode of address my father has solicited,' Weiss mused to herself. "But you said..."

"_Yes, I told him I loved you, and that your father had at least okayed it, and that seemed to make him accept everything. Though I think he said that if you hurt me he'd... uh... what was it again? Oh yeah, he would 'feed your spine to an ursa, and the rest of your to a nevermore.'"_

"What did you say to that?"

"_Well Yang said that she'd already called dibs on getting you, so they spent the next half an hour agreeing on what each of them got to do..."_

Weiss gulped, "What is it with our families and threats involving our lives?"

Ruby giggled, _"Well it's all fine as long as we stay together forever, right?"_

"That sounds like a good plan," Weiss replied.

They chatted a little more, until finally Ruby had to leave.

"_Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow."_

"Okay, until tomorrow."

"_Love you!"_

Again, Ruby hung up as words caught in Weiss's throat. Weiss stared at the scroll, a sad look in her eyes.

"I love you too idiot."

* * *

The week gradually passed, until Sunday arrived. Each day, Weiss and Blake would mope about, and each evening Weiss would fail to say what she wanted to Ruby. Perhaps it was for the best, she realised. It would be much better to say it face to face.

Now, Weiss and Blake sat on a bench just outside the docks, waiting. Both were impatient, staring at the main exit from the port.

"So... before they arrive, will you answer my question at last?"

Weiss stared at Blake, "Which one?"

"Do you love Ruby yet?"

Weiss sighed, "I'll answer if you answer mine."

"Which one?"

"Do you love Yang?"

"Okay... how about on 3?"

Weiss nodded, "1... 2... 3..."

"Of course!" Both girls spoke in unison. The serious faces that had come over them when they began faded, replaced by amused looks, then both burst out laughing.

"So... are you going to confess to her?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, probably. I don't know when," Blake smiled. "But I do know that it will be amazing."

"Well, please do not take a note out of Ruby's book for confession methods."

"It worked didn't it?"

"After nearly killing her, yes."

"Well maybe I'd die for a date with Yang."

"Really? That does not sound like a good exchange."

"Har-har-har, see how I'm laughing so hard?"

Weiss smirked, "I'm just saying, you would not be good at economics."

Blake sighed, "Whatever, I don't make fun of you and Ruby... too much."

"Your partner does it enough for both of you."

"Whatever."

Weiss smirked, then looked over to the dock entrance as she noticed a bright golden object in her periphery. "Speaking of her..."

Blake looked up, and saw Yang and Ruby walking out of the dock. The two girls stood from the bench and waved over to their partners, who jogged up.

"WEISS!" Ruby threw herself at her girlfriend. "I missed you so much Weiss I can't believe it!"

"Ruby, calm down, we're in public," Weiss hissed. Ruby pouted but removed herself from Weiss. The pout broke quickly though, forming a bright smile.

"Hey Blakey, how's it going?" Yang smirked at her friend.

"I don't really know, it suddenly became a lot noisier."

Yang chuckled, "So, you miss me kitty?"

"Maybe," Blake smiled. "How was your trip?"

"Eh... all right, but it was hard to stop Ruby and Dad from getting up and going to hunt grimm for no reason. Seriously, I thought I was bad at sitting still, give those two a doctor's order and wait for the explosion when they build up too much energy."

Blake raised an eyebrow, "Yeah... I think you need to be put in that category too. Only with you the explosion would be literal."

"Well... I reckon you'd like it if I exploded in just the right way, all... over... you..." Yang smirked, punctuating her last words with seductive movements. Or rather, movements that should have been seductive, but Yang was trying not to laugh a bit too obviously while doing them.

"Hey, not in front of the kids, d~arling." Blake waved a finger, chiding the blonde.

"Would you two get a room?" Weiss asked. "I mean, the real couple here is less... distracting than the pair of you."

"Eh? What's to say we aren't a real couple?" Yang put an arm around Blake's shoulder, "What do you say Blake? Want to be taken out by yours truly?"

Blake had suddenly gone rigid, and slowly raised a hand to remove Yang's arm. "That's enough, come on, let's go."

Blake turned and began leading the way towards the airships for them to go back to Beacon. Yang stared after her, a confused look on her face, "Was it something I said?"

'No, it was the way you said it, idiot.' Weiss did not reply, but simply sighed, then turned to Ruby, "Come on, we'd better get going."

Ruby looked a little worried, but nodded. They began walking, when Yang looked at the pair, and smirked, "Why don't you two stay out for dinner, you could do with some time right? And I think I need to talk to Blake..."

'Yang being considerate and aware of others' feelings? I didn't realise it was the End of Times today.' Weiss glanced at Ruby, "You want to go to a restaurant?"

Ruby nodded, and smiled, "Definitely."

"Well, see you two later," Yang ran off, with suitcase in one hand, and waving with the other.

"Well, shall we?" Weiss asked, and Ruby nodded. The pair started walking, quickly settling on a nearby curry-house. A little beneath the sort of place Weiss normally ate at, but she was not going to object.

"So," Weiss said. "What is there that we haven't talked about yet? Was the trip back okay?"

"More boat puns, some of them recycled, and Yang seemed to be excited to see Blake again..." Ruby paused, "Well I hope she sorts her mess out now."

"The idiot, how can she not see what Blake is feeling?"

"Wait, you mean, Blake..." dots were joining together in Ruby's head.

"Right, you did not hear it from me... okay Blake will know of course you heard it from me, but anyway: yes, Blake has feelings for Yang."

Ruby stared at Weiss, then her mouth fell open slightly. "Oh... my... gosh golly, wow! That is awesome!"

Weiss stared at Ruby surprised, "How so?"

"Well... Yang may kinda have told me that she likes Blake."

Weiss stared at her partner. "Ah..."

* * *

When they returned to the dormitory, Weiss and Ruby had expected a variety of things. These had varied from a furious Blake and begging Yang, to a calmed pair yet to admit their feelings, to a loving pair being almost as nauseating as Weiss and Ruby knew they must be.

What the two of them had not expected was clothes strewn on the floor, hither and thither, and Blake and Yang both asleep, fortunately covered, in Blake's bed.

Ruby stared from clothes to bed, to clothes. "Well that was... unexpected... and quick."

Weiss stared. Her gaze had fixed on a black lacy bra, which lay on the top of a few other clothes. Slowly, she turned her gaze to the pair in bed. "They are going to have some explaining to do later..."

* * *

A/N: 'S.S. White Rose, come in, this is S.S. Bumblebee, we are afloat, I repeat, we are afloat.'

*Ahem* Yes, so there we go. There shall be much rejoicing for all the Bumblebee fans and all that. So I actually managed to answer all of the questions from last chapter, neat.

So, lacking anything else to say, I'm going to go on to the important stuff: I am slightly modifying my schedule for this! Now, before you all get upset, let me clarify: **I will still be updating once per week**. However, it will be much more rigid: I will be sending the new chapter to be proofread each Thursday (or Friday if I'm really desperate) and posting the chapter on Saturday (or Sunday if we've fallen behind for some reason). As I write slightly more than one chapter per week, this will allow me to get myself ahead, so that if things come up, I can make sure to stick to the schedule.

The reason I'm doing this is that my University term just started, and the extra work on top of writing this and my book is manageable at the moment, but I don't want to get to a point where I have to drop anything. So yes, all updates will now be on Saturdays (my time) unless there is a major issue (e.g. I can't get to a computer on the day) in which case I will try to post beforehand, but it may have to be delayed.

Also, just going to remind everyone, I'm keeping up with the whole blog thing. Will be updating it today, with something, not quite sure what yet, but you know, stuff. I'm largely talking about things to do with the writing process, so if that interests you, give it a read. Please. I don't have any better plans for exposure. Help a guy out, okay? *Insert Ruby-quality puppy face.*

Again, a big thank you to CBV for proofreading this. Though I did just spot another mistake that we both missed... man, dis scrub. :p But yeah, that's all for now, so...

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Yang found Blake curled up on her bed.

The faunus was just lying there, looking dejected. Yang bit her lip as she approached. Blake had not even seemed to notice Yang's approach or the noise of Yang dropping her bag by the foot of the bed. There was not even a hint of a reaction when Yang sat down on the bed next to her.

"Blake... I want to apologise... but I'll be honest, I don't know what I did wrong."

"You never do." Blake's words were quiet, barely above a whisper, and emotionless.

"I know."

Yang sighed, and looked down at Blake. She had taken off her bow for once, revealing the dark ears, which lay low against the girl's head. Yang thought she saw streaks of grime from tears on her cheeks, and guilt washed over her.

"Look, I just want you to talk to me, tell me what I did, because yeah: I'm too stupid to work it out on my own."

Blake finally moved, rotating her head to gaze up at Yang, golden eyes staring up into lilac. "I... it's hard."

"It was the date comment right? Are you still cut-up about Sun?" Blake shook her head. "Then is there someone else?" A nod. "Have you told them?" Shake. "Can I ask who it is?"

Blake had rested her cheek on the bed again, staring across the room, seeming to gaze at nothing. Yang waited more patiently than she had ever had. 'It's okay, I'll help her, whoever it is.'

"The most difficult person in the world." Blake's reply caught Yang by surprised.

"Aha... you make it sound like it's me."

Blake did not reply. Yang stared at her, expecting a wry smile, but there was nothing. No smirk, no laugh, no witty retort, nothing.

"It isn't... is it?"

Blake curled up into a tighter ball, looping her arms around her legs, and burying her face in her knees.

'No way.' Yang stared at her partner, astounded. She reached out a hand to Blake, and rested it on her shoulder. Blake flinched slightly in surprise, but did not try to shy away properly. Yang moved herself, kneeling by the side of the bed, looking at Blake's forehead where it peeked out above her knees.

"Blake, look at me." Blake did not react, and Yang moved her hand to the girl's head, stroking her ears gently. "Blake, please."

Golden eyes looked out shyly, and locked their gaze with Yang's. Yang knew those eyes, they were the ones Ruby had looked at Weiss with. Fear and love blended together, wanting to escape, and all Yang needed to do was reach out and accept it.

"Blake..." Yang leaned in and kissed her partner's forehead, her hand caressing the girl's ears. "It's okay. Please, just say it."

"I love you." Small, quiet words escaped Blake's mouth, bringing a warm smile to Yang's lips.

"I love you too Kitty."

"Ruin the moment why don't you?"

"That's what I'm here for."

The two moved together seamlessly, Blake uncurling and reaching out, while Yang leaned in. Arms entwined, their lips pressed softly together, as they pulled one another into a gentle embrace. Where love and longing fell away and pure desire took over, neither girl knew, but they both knew they had reached that point when Yang's top hit the floor.

* * *

Weiss held her hands firmly over Ruby's ears as Yang became somewhat more graphic with her explanation of the events of the previous evening. Yang was half-dressed, while Blake had gone to the bathroom to dress properly.

"And then I got a sight of..."

"Take another step towards corrupting Ruby and I will end you," Weiss glared, as Ruby gave up on trying to remove Weiss's hands over her ears.

"What, you want to keep that for yourself?" Yang smirked at Weiss, who just narrowed her eyes.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Now would you stop with the intimate details, I don't really want to know more about Blake's anatomy than I already do."

"Are you sure, she has quite the pair of..."

"If you finish that sentence then they will never find the body."

Yang chuckled, but stopped with the teasing. Something more important to her came out of the bathroom at that point anyway, arresting her attention. "Why hello there beautiful."

Blake sighed, "You're gonna talk to me like that all the time now, aren't you?"

"Well it is my right, and duty."

Blake glared, "I don't think 'duty' has anything to do with it, but if you want to get clawed then please continue."

Yang smirked, "Maybe I'm into that."

Blake just walked past her and sat on her bed. "Just go and get changed so that Weiss can let go of Ruby's ears."

"Whatever sweetie." Yang quickly moved over to peck her partner's cheek, then headed over to the bathroom with her clothes.

Weiss removed her hands from Ruby, who looked around, pouting, "What was that for?"

"I'll tell you when you're older."

"No fair!"

Weiss sighed in frustration, then looked over to Blake, "So... are you a couple proper now?"

"I think so... we didn't really talk about it much..." Blake looked at the floor as she spoke, clearly embarrassed. The first thing that she had done when they all woke up was promise Weiss over and over that _it_ would not happen again. At least, not when Weiss and Ruby could walk in on the results.

"I had rather gathered you hadn't spent too much time talking, but regardless," Weiss waved it off, not really wanting a lengthy discussion on it. "Ruby, shall we go for breakfast? Those two are going to need a little time I'd wager."

"Uh... okay," Ruby smiled nervously at Blake as Weiss led her out of the room. Once they were outside, Ruby glanced round at Weiss, "Aren't you happy for them?"

"Oh, trust me, I am. I'd just rather that, after she got so annoyed at us for even the slightest display of affection, Yang would keep herself more under control."

Ruby shrugged. Much as Weiss had obviously tried to avoid it, Ruby knew what had happened: she wasn't stupid, nor was she eight. But just to keep Weiss happy, or rather less unhappy, she would not go there in the conversation.

It was then that Ruby realised that Weiss was not heading towards the canteen. Ruby had just been following her without thinking about it. "Er... Weiss, this isn't the way to the canteen."

"I know."

Ruby stared at her girlfriend, trying to puzzle out Weiss's intentions. They reached the door leading onto the roof, and Weiss stepped out, Ruby following behind.

"Er... what's going on Weiss?"

Weiss turned, and Ruby saw her face had flushed, and that she was having trouble looking at Ruby. "I wanted to talk to you in private. You see... while you were gone, I realised something. I would have told you yesterday, but then everything happened and I couldn't find a good time."

Weiss paused, and Ruby nodded to indicate that she should continue.

"I really missed you."

"I missed you too," Ruby smiled shyly, now suddenly full of nerves too, looking away from Weiss.

"I know... I'm kinda glad in a weird way. I'm glad that I missed you, because it made me realise, I really... really love you."

A bomb could have dropped right behind her and Ruby would not have been as thoroughly blown away as she was by Weiss's words. She probably would not have even noticed the explosion. "You... do?"

Weiss nodded, then smiled, locking eyes with Ruby. "I, Weiss Schnee, love you, Ruby Rose. With all my heart."

"Weiss!" Ruby flung herself at her girlfriend, arms wrapping around her.

"Careful!" Weiss spoke too late, and the two fell over, landing with Ruby on top of Weiss, straddling her. "Dolt!"

"But you still love me, right?" Ruby leaned down over Weiss, halting inches above her face.

"Of course," Weiss closed the gap, and their lips met. It was only for a brief moment, before Weiss drew back. "You'll always be my beloved dolt."

Ruby smiled, and leaned down, pressing her lips against Weiss's, this time both of them passionately enjoying the moment.

* * *

Yang could not remember exactly how it had happened, but she was under Blake, who was kissing her again. They had started talking once Yang had come out of the shower, and now Yang was on her back on the bed. Crazy how these things happened.

Blake drew back, passion in her eyes, and smiled at Yang, "So tell me, what's it like being down there?"

"Makes a change from last night."

Blake giggled, then lay herself down on top of Yang, hugging the blonde, and nuzzling her head into the crook of Yang's neck. "What do you say we ditch class today and just stay here?"

"Isn't it supposed to me who makes the crazy suggestions?"

"Maybe you've rubbed off on me."

"Well I have, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Blake glared at Yang, but let the comment pass by unchallenged. "Anyway... so I wanted to talk, about us."

"Yeah... it's kinda weird, suddenly being together."

"So we are... a couple then?"

"Of course," Yang beamed. "What else would we be?"

"There's a long list. 'Insane,' 'dangerous,' 'incredibly sexy,' I could go on."

"Please do."

Blake smiled, then heaved herself up, "I suppose we should go to class, you do have a lot to catch up on."

Yang nodded, a sour expression on her face. "That's gonna be fun... and then there'll be Weiss despairing as she tries to get Ruby to learn the stuff."

"Don't remind me," Blake returned the expression her girlfriend wore. "You think we could get a hotel room for the night?"

"O~h? You thinking of doing something interesting?"

Blake had not meant that, but that would not stop her from playing along. "_Very_ interesting."

"I'm intrigued," Yang leaned over to kiss Blake, but the latter dodged aside.

"Come on, time for breakfast, I need some food."

"But you could eat me!"

"Bad girl! Later."

Yang pouted, but followed Blake as she left the room.

* * *

"So how is it that you two left about fifteen minutes before us, yet arrived at the canteen at pretty much the same time?" Yang asked as the four girls sat down.

"Something came up," Weiss replied dismissively.

"Oh? What?" Yang gave a suggestive look in Ruby's direction, "Did you two decide to take a leaf out of our book?"

"No," Weiss replied flatly, while Ruby blushed.

"O~h? Somehow I don't entirely believe that. Which base did you get to?"

"I don't know, which one is 'My girlfriend's sister is insinuating lewd elements to our relationship.'"

"Base 1.3 I think," Blake replied, focusing far more on her food than the conversation.

"So they've kissed?" Yang asked, going starry-eyed. "So pure... so innocent."

"Would you make up your mind whether you're going to go all fangirly over us, or get pissed off at us?" Weiss replied sarcastically.

"Whatever, all I'm saying is that Ruby totally should have swung for the home-run."

Weiss's glare was one of utter disgust. "Apologies for some of us wanting to take our time."

"True, not to mention you could get arrested Weiss," Yang replied with a smirk.

"Yang, would you mind, I am trying to eat, and your incessant teasing of those two, amusing as it may be, is not exactly a good soundtrack for breakfast." Blake looked up from her food to give Yang a look, saying 'Can it or else.'

"Anything for my favourite kitty cat."

"Are you really intending to talk to me like that forever more?"

"Eh... we'll see how it goes."

Blake rolled her eyes, and, across the table, Ruby and Weiss shared an amused glance.

* * *

It was a call on her scroll that finally drew Weiss's attention away from Ruby for a moment. It was not as romantic as it sounded: Weiss had been making Ruby work through everything she had missed over the past week, and it required Weiss's undivided attention to ensure that Ruby was giving the work her undivided attention.

"If you start slacking just because I'm on the phone, no hugs for a week," Weiss said as she grabbed her scroll, noticing the Schnee company number which was calling.

Ruby pouted but continued with her work at the desk.

Weiss sat down on her bed, and hit the 'receive' button. "Hello, Weiss Schnee speaking."

"_Miss Schnee, apologies for calling you like this, but we need you and your team-mates to come down to the HQ at your next convenience."_

Weiss was surprised, "Why would you need us?"

"_The team we sent to replace Simon Hawk's expedition have vanished. There is a high chance the same people are involved, and would like to ask you four for assistance."_

By this point, Ruby had overheard the conversation, and looked over at Weiss. For her part, Weiss bit her lip, and glanced up at the clock: it was just past 6:00.

"We can be there in an hour, that okay?"

"_Thank you Miss Schnee, I'll inform the appropriate people now."_

"Very good, until then." Weiss hung up, and looked over to Ruby. "I really ought not to give you any hugs now."

"But I've already messaged Yang and Blake to get over here now," Ruby smiled, waving her scroll.

"Good girl," Weiss smiled, stepping over to give Ruby a peck on the cheek. "Now, get ready to head out, we need to get there quickly."

* * *

"What happened then?" Weiss asked.

The four girls had arrived at the Schnee HQ, and were shown into a meeting room. The four of them on one side of the table, and the man who had called Weiss, along with a woman, on the other.

"The team investigating the Iron Mountains for potential dust-mining sites initiated an emergency call earlier today, at 14:33." The man who had called Weiss earlier was the one now explaining the situation. "This was the message we received."

He took out a scroll, and pressed a button. A recording played, a voice full of static speaking.

"_HQ, this is the Iron Mountain team. We are under attack. 12 enemies, the AEGX soldiers have..." _a patch of static burst from the scroll as a bang was heard in the background. Then the voice spoke again, quite now, pained. _"Send... help..."_

Another wave of static sounded, and at its peak, the recording cut out. Everyone was silent, until the man coughed and spoke once more. "So... we believe it highly likely that the attackers were from the same group as the ones who attacked the opening ceremony you four were at."

"Who are these Aegis people?" Weiss asked.

"Mercenaries your father hired to replace those who were put out of action by the last attack. A-E-G-X, they were founded by an ex-hunter team. They sent eleven soldiers with our team who were there to investigate."

"What's their record for jobs like?"

"They have a very high success rate."

"But they were beaten?"

The man frowned, "Apparently so. Maybe it was an ambush."

"Maybe..." Weiss sounded uncertain, which the other girls picked up on immediately, but did not comment on. "So, what is our response?"

"We are preparing to ready another team to attempt a rescue mission... though chances that anyone survived and wasn't taken prisoner are slim."

"And you called us here because?"

"Miss Schnee, when your father was contacted about this, he requested that you be put in charge of the operation."

Weiss blinked, "Why so?"

"His own words were... erm... 'If Weiss and her friends can't sort it out, I'd wager we don't have anyone who can."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Okay, so... our status? Who do we have available?"

"You're just going to accept that?" Blake asked, surprised.

"One: Father has a point, we've fought those guys before, and we have a grasp on how they fight... sort of. Two: giving my assistance certainly won't hurt. So, are you three in?"

Ruby nodded quickly, Yang shrugged and looked at Blake who sighed. "Does your company ever want help with anything that doesn't involve fighting?"

"Last time you got a feast out of it, I'll see if we can fix something better this time," Weiss replied with a smirk.

"Fine, whatever," Blake spoke as if she were irritated, but could not help the smirk which crept onto her face.

"Great. Now, as I was saying: what are our resources?"

"I've sent the details of our resources to your scroll, as well as maps of the target area and the like. We have about twenty security guards who we think are sufficiently good at combat to deploy."

"Dust supplies?"

"As much as you need."

"Anything to get us there by air?"

"We can do parachute drops if you really want, though landing will be pretty much impossible."

Weiss looked thoughtful, then nodded, "When will everything be ready for us to go?"

"Tomorrow morning if you need it."

"Perfect, have everyone ready for final briefing by eight o'clock, to leave at nine."

"Yes Miss Schnee."

"We'll have to sort some things out on our end, oh, and we'll need some rooms in the city, can you get those sorted out for us?"

The man nodded, "I can get you four rooms in the hotel we usually book in."

"Make it two doubles," Weiss replied without explaining. "But thank you. We will go and make further arrangements."

Weiss stood, and the other girls followed her out of the room.

"So... we're just gonna skip school and go fighting?" Yang asked.

"Yes, problem?" Weiss replied.

"Hell no!"

"Good, now..." Weiss took out her scroll and tapped on it. "Blake, Yang, I've just called a driver to take you two back to Beacon. Can you grab enough stuff from our rooms for the night, plus any supplies you think we'll need, and Blake, can you go and explain to Professor Ozpin about the situation... or at least as much as you need to."

Blake nodded, "Sure."

"What about me?" Ruby asked.

"You are going to come with me and help me work out what the plan is for tomorrow. We likely won't have enough information to work out where our enemy is, so we're going to have to work out a search system, etcetera."

Ruby nodded, "Okay."

Weiss led Ruby to her father's office, while Blake and Yang went to the lift to go down. As the two girls sat down in the office, Weiss scanning the files she had been sent, Ruby giggled, "You seem really used to this."

"I was raised to be a leader, to be the one in charge of a huge company. This isn't too much." Weiss looked up as she spoke, a small smile on her face. "And besides, when Father is depending on me, I can't let him down."

Ruby nodded, and was about to reply, when she heard something. If came from outside, the tiniest creak, as if someone had leaned on something a little harder than they meant to.

"Something wrong Ruby?" Weiss had noticed the girl's sudden change in demeanour, and asked her the question in a hushed voice.

"No, nothing," Ruby said, giving Weiss a look that told her everything she needed to know: 'Yes, something.'

Weiss raised a brow and listened, then she heard it too, a slight noise as if something were moving on the other side of the door. She nodded to the door, and Ruby quietly got up as Weiss started speaking to cover the sounds of movement. "So, I think we should start from here and fan out, maybe focus on the area here, that looks like the most likely area for any kind of hideout."

Ruby reached the door, and gently put a hand to the door handle, her other hand reaching for Crescent Rose.

Weiss looked up at her and smiled, "What do you think?"

"Well I think their hiding needs some work." Ruby threw open the door and pulled out her scythe in one motion, pointing it out the door. She heard the sound of something being knocked back when she threw the door open, but saw nobody there. She slowly stepped out into the corridor, holding the weapon so that she could strike at a moment's notice. Her stepped were slow and careful.

Something touched her foot. She swung her scythe, and a figure broke into a run from the ground by her feet. Initially the figure was hard to see, with a pixelated appearance. Ruby halted her swing, and reconfigured her weapon before shooting at the retreating figure. However, every time her bullets came close to her target, those same pixels appeared, in large patches in the way of the bullets.

"Ruby!" Weiss had come to the door, sword drawn, and was watching the fleeing figure.

"Got any ideas?"

"I'll get security to shut off the lift." Weiss tapped on her scroll quickly as Ruby kept firing ineffectually.

The figure reached a window and glanced at it for a moment before pulling a pistol from their belt and shooting through the glass. Then, the pixels surrounding them once more, they leaped through what remained of the window.

Ruby ran to the window as Weiss spoke into her scroll. "All security personnel, we have a spy. The just escaped through the South window on the top floor. Find and capture them immediately!"

Ruby glanced back at Weiss, who put away her scroll. "Gimme some glyphs please," Ruby requested.

"If you give me a lift," Weiss replied.

Ruby nodded, swapping her weapon into its more compact gun form, then picking Weiss up like a princess. Ruby leaped out the window as Weiss summoned a glyph. The figure seemed to be running on air, every time they placed a foot down, the pixels swarming beneath the foot, seeming to create a foothold in the air. Ruby leaped after them, Weiss using her glyphs as platforms for the two of them.

Rose petals fell across the sky as Ruby's semblance kicked in, and she sped above the rooftops, gaining ground on the fleeing figure. Beneath them, the Schnee security teams had rushed around the building, but quickly fallen behind the three figures darting across the night sky.

"She's fast," Weiss said. "You think you can catch her?"

"Can I?" Ruby glanced down at Weiss with a smirk of confidence.

"Well can you?"

"I'm rubbing off on you too much aren't I?" Ruby asked, still smiling a little.

"Not enough darling," Weiss giggled, then turned her gaze back to their target. The three of them had been losing height, as the figure at the front had deliberately been lowering themselves down to the roof. "Ruby, throw me!"

"What?"

"No time to explain, just do it!"

Ruby felt uncertain, but did so, throwing Weiss into the air at the peak of her jump. Ruby landed on the roof of a building, continuing the chase without the glyphs. Weiss fixed herself in mid-air with a glyph, looking down towards the target, then leaped off with a blast of dust turning herself into a missile. Spinning the barrel of Myrtenaster to settle on light blue, a wave of ice surrounded her as she hurtled through the air towards their target.

Lances of ice, formed from the vapour in the air, surrounded her. She neared her target, flying at colossal speed, only to halt herself with a perfectly-timed glyph, spinning in the air to place her foot on the barrier she had created. Her aura absorbed the shock of the landing, and she halted with ease. The ice did not.

The figure had only a moment to react when they saw the glyph appear, having failed to notice Weiss before that. When they saw the glyph, and the ice surrounding it, they pulled another pistol, now with one in each hand, and opened fire. As they shot, pixels appeared, some protecting them, some appearing in the path of the shots, to deflect the bullets around the glyph.

Weiss realised she was under fire and dodged as many as she could. The bullets bent around, more of the tiny barriers appearing to deflect them even once Weiss had dodged them. The ice embedded itself in the roof below her, and her foe began to flee again, firing a few last shots at Weiss before turning to run at full pelt once more.

Weiss leaped into the air once more as Ruby passed her, still chasing the figure with her semblance. Weiss leaped from glyph to glyph, accelerating herself after the other two, drawing level with Ruby with some difficulty. Their target was almost within their reaches, only a few yards ahead of them.

Weiss swung her blade as the barrel spun to red, unleashing a wave of flame after the figure, forcing them to leap into the air to dodge, slowing them just enough to let Ruby close with them. Ruby swung out her scythe, the weapon extending as she swung, and carved an arc through the flames Weiss had summoned. She struck her mark, sending the figure flying back.

In the darkness of the twilight around them, Weiss and Ruby could only just make out the figure at last in the light of Weiss's dying flames, now that they, or rather 'she,' had stopped running. From the weaponry and figure, Weiss knew they had seen her before: the foe Blake had fought at the ceremony.

"You girls are persistent, but no fair, two on one?" the woman picked herself up, lowering her guns at the girls.

"All's fair in love and war," Weiss replied, glowering at the woman.

She laughed, "You got that right, didn't they?"

A flash of light blinded Ruby and Weiss. It had seemingly come from nowhere, but once they had blinked the spots away from their vision, their gazes settled on a new figure beside the one they had been chasing.

The newcomer bore a round shield and a long knife which she held back-handed. In the shield, slots held dust crystals, one of which, a bright white crystal, was still glowing from the spell. The girls were fairly sure she was a woman as well, though under the combat gear it was hard to tell.

Their attention was arrested a moment later by bullets flying towards them, as the first woman opened fire. "Gal, we need out of here."

"Working on it," the woman with the shield replied. She tapped the hilt of her knife to a black crystal, which glowed with a dark aura, before the darkness flowed out from it, surrounding the area.

"Ruby!" Weiss called out. The darkness had washed over the pair, preventing them from seeing anything.

"I'm here!" Ruby called out from close-by. A hand reached out and grabbed Weiss's shoulder. "That you?" Ruby's voice asked.

"Yeah, you okay?"

"Yeah, but I can't see my hand in front of my face."

"Okay, just stay close, I should be able to do something." She span the barrel of her sword to white dust, then let the light dust glow, piercing through the magical darkness.

The pair made their way through the black cloud, but by the time they had got out, the two they were fighting were gone.

"That was... a little crazy," Ruby said. "But why did they just run, rather than fight?"

"They won by fleeing, with the information they have," Weiss replied.

"Oh... but they didn't get anything."

"If they were listening earlier, they likely know we're going to perform the operation tomorrow." Weiss frowned. "We can't just call it off, if the researchers are in trouble, we need to go as soon as we can."

"Let's worry about that when we get back, the others will be worried if they come back and we've not returned."

Weiss nodded, "Yeah..." A thought struck her. "But I'm curious, how did she get in?"

* * *

A/N: Okay, straight up, I apologise. Yes, this chapter is late. However, it is for reasons which were beyond my control. Basically, on Saturday, my internet went down. This chapter was ready to post, with only a few edits needed from the proofreading, and then... down goes my internet. I was out in the morning, and it seems that it went down right after I walked in the door. So yes, again, I apologise, but it's not actually my fault.

I've not really got much else to say. The next chapter is done, but needs proofreading, and I won't post it until next weekend anyway: I created a schedule for a reason and I mean to stick to it (barring technological failures). Though I think I will aim to post it on Friday evening if it's all ready by then, rather than waiting until Saturday (when I only have a few hours free in the afternoon) in case something goes wrong again.

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"So have you worked out her semblance?" Blake asked once Weiss finished her explanation of the events of the evening. The four had gathered in Mr. Schnee's vacant office once Yang and Blake had returned.

"I think it's similar to mine, but with small, weak barriers. She was making a lot more of them than I could manage though, by area. She also managed to place them to deflect her bullets around my glyph."

"And the other woman?"

"No idea, she just used the dust in her shield."

Yang shrugged, "We'll find out tomorrow no doubt."

Weiss rolled her eyes, "It would be nice to know in advance, but I suppose you're right." Weiss's scroll pinged, and she picked it up, reading the message she had just received. "Ah... hm..."

"What is it?" Ruby asked, leaning over to have a look.

"A list of the cards used to gain access to the lift today. Most of these are as expected, but this one," she pointed at one number, "this is a guest card, which would not have been used. In fact, it's currently sitting downstairs, in the reception desk, locked up."

"So how did someone use it?" Yang asked.

"A card cloner possibly. It's difficult to do, but the guest cards are a lot simpler than an employee's card, cloning it would not be too hard for someone with decent technology. Now for interesting thing number two: the guest cards are changed every month, and only three people have been given that particular card. Two of them were electricians, the third was one 'Major Xin Hua' of the AEGX mercenary group."

The three other girls stared at Weiss, who looked up with a smile. "I think we have our enemy's identity." Weiss tapped on her scroll a few times. "I'm asking for all the data we have on AEGX, that should help us work out a plan, and maybe what they're after."

The information was soon sent to Weiss's scroll, and she in turn sent it to the other three. The girls poured over the files.

"So this Major Hua would be the guy with the spear, presumably," Blake said as she examined the waist-up image of the man.

"How do you know?" Yang asked.

"His figure helps, but I doubt that anyone short of an officer could have fought that well." Blake glanced across at Weiss and Ruby, "Also, the other high-ranking male officer looks like he'd be another guy we fought."

Weiss and Ruby both turned to the file detailing one Colonel Aelius Krios. The files had nothing on the weaponry or semblances of the people in question, a note at the start having explained that the group was too secretive about their skills for anyone to know them. But the photograph of the man was enough to convince Weiss. The figure was burned into her memory from their fight at the refinery. There was also a note that, when he studied at Beacon, Aelius was an expert dust-user, and also that he bought large amounts of dust from the Schnee company for his own use.

"But... he doesn't have a single dust-mark on him from dust-fusion! What's the date on these photos?" Weiss asked, surprise evident in her voice.

"Three months ago, so unless he's had some extensive work since then..." Blake trailed off, knowing that she did not need to say more.

"It's possible, but I'm starting to get the feeling that I'm just missing something." Weiss bit her lip. How could this man do what he had? It made no sense at all.

"So, we need to plan for tomorrow," Ruby spoke up, bringing Weiss out of her worrying. "I suggest we..."

The girls spent an hour or so planning the operation. They had to find ways to make up for the lack of numbers: they knew AEGX had about 40 well-trained soldiers, but the girls were confident they could help thin the ranks, provided that the big guns were not there to start with.

* * *

"I see... Xin have the soldiers prepare for tomorrow then. I will begin work on the final phase immediately. Galina, you're with me. Eleanor, make sure the perimeter is secure, and fortifications are solid."

The three officers nodded as Aelius gave orders. Xin and Eleanor left to act out the orders, while Galina waited for more.

Aelius rifled through the papers he had on the plain desk. The office they were in was a simple thing, only needing to be used for the last few weeks, so no comforts had been brought deep into the snowy mountains. The fort they were in was carved out of the side of one mountain, and far older than any of them.

Galina waited as Aelius found the correct paper, then spoke. "Sir... Aelius, I wanted to ask... how much will we change?"

"I can't promise Galina, the knock-on effects of our actions could re-write history, but I promise that I shall do my best to keep all the best parts from changing." Aelius's cheeks had tinged slightly as he spoke, but he quickly returned to his usual, calm demeanour.

Galina laughed a little, "Remember when we first met?"

"Back in the Emerald Forest? Yeah, that was a strange introduction. How many beowolves were chasing you?"

"Only five," Galina replied. "Then I run into this unarmed guy, who looks like he should be in a library, not on a battlefield. Boy was that a bad start."

"It got better though," Aelius replied.

"True, quite quickly actually, when you fried the wolves."

"Beowolves are just so combustible," Aelius laughed. "But yes, first time we'd met, and we were stuck with each other."

Galina nodded, and looked at her feet. "Stuck forever more."

Aelius let out a long sigh. "Galina, after all this is over, we need to talk." He smiled, "And keep talking, together, okay?"

Galina smiled a little, "Yeah, thanks, Aelius."

"No problem. Now let's get going. History won't change its own course."

* * *

"So you messed up?"

"It's not my fault those girls could hear a pin drop in a typhoon."

Xin chuckled, "Oh, so you finally admit it's hard to avoid them?"

Eleanor glared, but remained silent.

"So... just one more day right?" Xin said, staring up at the corridor's ceiling as the pair walked together.

"Just one, and it will all be over." Eleanor had a slight frown, which Xin caught in the corner of his eye.

"Something wrong?"

"Well... what do we do after this is over?"

Xin shrugged. "I was thinking of moving to Atlas, maybe get a nice safe job in an office somewhere."

"You?" Eleanor giggled, "That's rich, you'd get bored of filing within a week."

"Whatever, I would like to move to Atlas though. A nice modern city sounds like fun, don't you agree?"

"I suppose."

Xin smiled, "You should come too."

Eleanor rolled her eyes, "Well I suppose you need someone to look after you."

"Hey! I don't need you to look after me, I just want you to."

Eleanor stared at him. "You know how that sounds, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you mean it like that?"

Xin smirked, "I'll tell you once it's over, okay?"

"You'd better," Eleanor strode down the corridor, making a turn and leaving Xin with only her words.

* * *

Yang and Blake surveyed the hotel room that the Schnee company had booked for them. A double bed, with bedside-tables on each side, a desk, sizeable television and a modest wardrobe were the only pieces of furniture. A door led into an en-suite bathroom, and a window gave view of Vale's evening skyline.

"Well this is... pretty decent," Yang said, scratching her head.

The two had been left by Ruby and Weiss, with Weiss saying they should get to bed early and 'not fool around too much.' Glancing at Blake, Yang saw a challenge to be accepted.

"So Blake, how much do think is 'too much' fooling around?"

Blake raised a brow at her, "Why do you ask?"

"So that we can do just a little less than it."

Blake chuckled, but shook her head, "We really should get some rest, tomorrow will be tough."

"But ask yourself: how often will we get to be in a hotel room, just the two of us, with a nice double bed and an evening to ourselves?"

Blake sighed, then stepped up to Yang, "I suppose you may have a point."

* * *

"All I can say is that I'm glad these rooms are well-soundproofed," Weiss said as she sat on the bed in her nightdress. "I don't want to have to know what's going on next door."

"Then stop talking about it. Seriously, you go on about it a bit much," Ruby giggled at the glare Weiss gave her. "Oh come on, you were asking for it."

"If I didn't love you so much, I would end you."

"How much?" Ruby asked, seating herself by Weiss's side.

"Beg pardon?"

"How much do you love me?"

Weiss blushed, then looked away, "Probably about as much as you love me."

"Really? Wow, that's impressive." Ruby put an arm around Weiss, pulling the older girl towards her. "Man, two and a bit years really is a long time."

"You want to get married that much?" Weiss asked, raising a brow.

"Well yeah, 'specially as I can't even call you my girlfriend in public. Getting to say 'You see that super sexy lady over there, the one with the super-cute ponytail? Yeah, that's my wife,' would be awesome!"

"If you call me 'sexy' in public, we're getting divorced."

Ruby's face fell, "No! You can't do this to me Weiss! You mean everything to me!" Weiss stuck her nose in the air, and Ruby frowned, "Well then, I'm taking the cookies!"

Weiss stared at her girlfriend, "Please tell me that's not your number one priority if we split up."

"Well it is, but only because we'll never split up. So every time we do split up, cookies wil be my top priority."

"That's... strangely logical coming from you."

Ruby beamed, "I know! Wait a minute... that's not a compliment!"

"How good of you to catch on," Weiss smirked. "Now come on, we should get to bed."

The pair climbed into bed, Ruby immediately latching onto Weiss, hugging her tightly from behind. "Ruby, do you have to grab me the moment we're in bed?"

"But you're my favourite thing to hug while I sleep."

"But this was I can't hug you back."

Ruby slacked her grip so that Weiss could turn to face her. Weiss then slowly snaked her arms around Ruby's body, as Ruby tightened her hug once more.

"Hey Ruby."

"Yeah?"

"I really love you."

"I love you too."

"Always?"

"And forever."

"Good," Weiss buried her head in Ruby's shoulder. "Just be careful tomorrow, I don't want you getting hurt. If the doctor knew you were doing this so soon after your injury, he'd throw a fit most likely."

"I won't get hurt, if you don't," Ruby lay her head so that her chin just touched the crown of Weiss's head. "Promise?"

"Promise." Weiss smiled, though Ruby could not see it, "I would wish you sweet dreams, but then you'll just dream of cookies."

"Cookies _and_ you. The two things that make me happiest in the world." Ruby leaned to whisper in Weiss's ear, "And not in that order."

"Dolt."

"Sweet dreams Weiss."

"Goodnight Ruby."

* * *

Ruby woke slightly before the alarm Weiss had set the previous night roused the heiress, so she got a chance to perform one of her favourite activities: watching her girlfriend sleep.

Okay, she realised that sounded a little creepy, but Weiss really was a whole different variety of super-mega-cute while sleeping. During the night, it seemed that Ruby had rolled onto her back, and Weiss was lain across her chest. Ruby was literally pinned down, and with the heiress's arms wrapped around her she just had no choice but to lie there watching the girl sleep.

Weiss's normally stern visage was softened, and she had slightly curled up in her sleep, adding to the cute factor. Her long hair flowed over the sheets, and Ruby took the chance to run her hand through the silky strands.

Every so often, since they had started dating, Ruby would have a little moment of realisation that she was dating the most amazing person she had ever met. Just a second or two of 'this is all real.' A fragment of time where she realised just how lucky she was. She would not trade this happiness for anything.

Weiss began to stir, and her eyes fluttered open. Feeling the warmth of the body she was lain on, she looked up to see Ruby's smiling face. "Morning Ruby."

"Good morning sleeping beauty."

Weiss grunted in disapproval, but was not awake enough to form a more coherent response. Instead, she pulled herself up and kissed Ruby, much to the latter's surprise. "I'm told that a kiss wakes sleeping beauty up, I'm still half asleep though."

Ruby giggled, "Maybe another will help."

"Maybe," Weiss pressed her lips to Ruby's again. "Hm... a little bit."

Their lips pressed together again and again, as the sheets fell away and the pair hugged tightly, Ruby now leaning against the wall as Weiss knelt in front of her, leaning in to meet her lips. Mumblings of each others' names left their lips between kisses. Finally breaking apart, the pair stared into each others eyes, smiles forming on their faces.

"So I had a very sweet dream last night," Ruby said quietly.

"What did it involve?"

"Well it wasn't about cookies."

* * *

In the neighbouring room, a rather less ceremonious morning ritual was under way. Yang had managed to pull most of her clothes back on, and was now stretching. She was just a little stiff from the exercise of the previous evening.

Blake was still curled up in the bed, covered by the sheets, but otherwise nude. Yang smiled down at the girl. It felt quite liberating to act on her desires now. It was not quite the same as Ruby's love of Weiss, less romantic and more a matter of sheer desire, but the end result was the same: she wanted to be with Blake forever.

Sitting on the bed, she petted her girlfriend's head. She could barely believe the difference from a few days ago. Prior to her trip to Signal, Yang would only have petted the faunus in a joking manner. Now it was a sign of her affection. Most observers would likely notice no difference in their relationship, apart from their nightly activities, but the meanings behind their interactions were now vastly different.

In some ways the pair were just the same, in others vastly different. Not that the details mattered to Yang, all that she cared about was that the girl she was petting was hers now.

Yang felt movement beneath her hand, as Blake stirred, looking up at Yang through blurred vision. "Morning," she said as she blinked the sleep from her eyes.

"Good morning Kitty!"

"First: how many times am I going to have to hint that I don't like being called 'Kitty?' Second: how are you so chipper this morning? We're about to have the fight of our lives... or rather the fight of the week really. We seem to have the fight of our lives at least once a month."

Yang chuckled, "That we do. But yeah, I'm gonna be calling you Kitty 'til the end of time, and when did you last see me unchipper... a-chipper... chipless? Whatever the word is."

"You make something resembling a good point. Now could you get up so I can get out of bed and get dressed."

"Why would you want to do either of those things though?" Yang smiled, leaning down.

Blake maintained an unimpressed look. "We have work to do today, and I doubt Weiss will be happy if we show up late."

Yang pouted, but got up to let Blake crawl over to where her clothes had landed, pulling them on while trying to keep herself covered with the bed-sheet, partly just to spite Yang who was watching for even the slightest peek.

"Oh come on, nothing?" Yang frowned. "You were so happy to show me last night."

"That was then, this is now, sweetheart," Blake replied with a smirk, before standing from the bed, now fully clothed. "Now I'm going for a shower."

"Can I join you?" Yang put on puppy-eyes, which made Blake laugh rather than feel cruel.

"Your sister is much better at the eyes you know."

"Aw~ is that a no?"

Blake smirked, "When did I say that? But not too much fooling about. Weiss really will be pissed if we're late."

"Well, I'll make it quick for you then."

* * *

"Where the Hell are they?"

"Calm down Weiss, they aren't late yet..."

"But I told them to be here before it started, they have..." Weiss glanced at her scroll, "... two and a half minutes to get here."

Weiss was irritably striding from one side of the room to the other, while Ruby just sat and watched. They were waiting in the room next to the meeting room they would use for the briefing that morning, and, as Weiss had somehow guessed would happen, Yang and Blake were cutting it fine.

"I mean I understand the whole 'not wanting to take their hands off each other' thing, but we managed it!" Weiss failed to notice Ruby's blush at her words. "There's a time and a place, and they really need to..."

"Arrive on time?" Blake said as she and Yang casually strolled into the room. "Seriously Weiss, for someone trying to hide their relationship, you weren't half talking loudly about it. We could hear you in the corridor quite clearly."

"Is that all you have to say for yourselves? You are late!"

Blake glanced at a clock in the room, "No we're not, but you're about to make us all late. Shall we head in?"

"You..." Weiss would have continued the argument, but Ruby quickly cut-in.

"Guys! We really should head in. Come on Weiss, time to do your whole 'I'm in charge and awesome at it' thing, okay?" Ruby attached herself to Weiss's arm, and half-dragged her to the door. "Okay, let's do this."

Weiss nodded, now caught-up in the moment. This was here time to shine, to show everyone that Weiss Schnee could do this. "Here we go."

* * *

Xin stepped into a large cavern, filled with dust-tech. The devices were of an old style, mostly from before the war, though AEGX had brought in some new machines to make the old one function correctly. He looked around the room, ignoring the glowing dust in the machines, searching for the figure of his old friend.

He saw Aelius at one of the machines, his hands pressed against a dust crystal, and his arms glowing yellow. Close-to, Xin could see glowing golden veins running up and down his arms: veins of dust that ran through Aelius's body.

"Colonel!"

Aelius looked over when Xin called out to him, "Just a moment."

The glowing intensified, then faded slowly. Once the light had vanished, Aelius removed his hands from the crystal, as the machine kept running without his power.

"What is it Xin?"

"We are making the final preparations for the defence. We just need to know, where should the three of us be?"

"Make sure that you are close to here. You need to make it back to this room at all costs. I should be able to initiate the final stage by about midday. Galina will guard the door to this room, you and Eleanor should make sure you are within the complex, okay?"

"Yes sir," Xin replied. "I have Alpha squad as a defensive line inside the main corridor and the other squads three manning the entrance defences. At the very least, they'll slow any attack by enough for you to complete the preparations."

"Good, and the list?"

Xin reached into his pocket and handed a data slab to Aelius. "On here is a list of every request made by the members of AEGX, including those we lost."

Aelius nodded. He placed the drive in an iron box by one of the machine. "That's going to be a lot of work for the four of us..."

"Yeah... but it'll only take a day, right?" Xin replied with a small smile.

"That's the plan," Aelius nodded. "Well, I'd better get back to it. See you later Xin."

Xin nodded, "'Til this eternity ends, Aelius."

* * *

"So, are there any questions?" Weiss asked, looking over the twenty-odd men and women who had been listening to her. The briefing had been straightforward, no trouble so far.

Silence was the only answer she received. She nodded, "Very well, we begin in twenty-five minutes. Good luck out there." The soldiers filed out, heading to their positions, as the other three girls came up to Weiss.

"You were awesome Weiss!" Ruby said, beaming.

"Thank you," Weiss smiled a little at the words, allowing Ruby to latch onto her arm as she spoke.

"It still surprises me you have so much... well military strength at your disposal," Yang commented.

"Well mining sites often need to be cleared of grimm," Weiss shrugged. "I never found it odd myself." She thought it better not to mention the other use the Schnee security personnel had been put to lately while she was around Blake. "Anyway, you guys are all clear on the plan right?"

"Yep, don't worry, we'll make them notice us," Yang said with a smile. "You two can do your little thing in peace."

"That fills me with confidence," Weiss replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Glad to hear it!" Yang reached out and pulled Blake into a hug. "Now excuse me while I have some time with my favourite kitty-cat before the mission starts."

Blake rolled her eyes, but smiled at Weiss, "See you later."

"Just make sure you're ready on time," Weiss called after them as the pair left the room. "They'd better not be late."

"They won't be; Blake won't let Yang dawdle."

Weiss nodded, then looked down at Ruby. "You know you're going to give me pins-and-needles if you grip my arm that hard."

Ruby released Weiss's arm, and smiled at Weiss apologetically. "Sorry..."

"Don't worry about it," Weiss smiled, before a thought crossed her mind. "Oh yes, that reminds me..." She stepped over to a duffel bag that one of the soldiers had left in the room, opening it up and pulling out a white piece of cloth.

"What's that?" Ruby stepped over and examined it. She realised it was a cloak, with a hood, just like her own, but in white.

"As we're going to have to avoid being seen, I thought this would make more sense for a snow-topped mountain than your usual cloak." Weiss looked up at Ruby, to see a look of shock on her face. "Something wrong?"

"Er... it just... reminded me of my mum's cloak is all..." Ruby looked away from Weiss, a sad look in her eyes.

"Oh... I didn't realise, sorry."

"It's fine," Ruby stepped up and took the cloak, examining it. "It's well-made, thicker than my normal one too."

"I thought it would be better, seeing as it'll be cold up there."

Ruby shrugged off her red cloak, and wrapped the white one around her shoulders. The white clashed a little with the black dress Ruby wore, but from a practical standpoint it was ideal.

"It suits you," Weiss said with a smile.

"White is not my thing though... well not for me to wear, I do like white... obviously." Ruby giggled a little. "Well, thanks for this."

"No problem."

The pair started heading out of the building. In an area at the back of the building, there were two hangars, hidden from public view. The fronts of these were opened up, and two tiltrotor aircraft had been brought out, and now the soldiers were filing in.

Weiss and Ruby went to the one they would be travelling in, and took their places near the front of the craft. Ruby glanced at the watch Weiss had insisted she wear for the mission. It was just coming up to nine o'clock as the last soldiers boarded. There were about ten alongside the two girls. Yang and Blake were in the other craft.

As her watch reached nine on the dot, Ruby heard the whir of the aircraft's blades and the hum of the engine. The craft began to move, and through the tinted windows, Ruby saw they were taking off.

"Here we go," Weiss muttered as the ground fell away beneath them.

* * *

A/N: So I'm glad I created this schedule. I've spent the last week in various stages of unwell. It's just a cold, nothing serious, but trying to write anything while feeling awful is not easy. Consequently, I'm only about 1,700 words into the next chapter, in spite of having a week to write it so far... yeah, colds suck for productivity. But yes, I shall make sure I finish it by next Friday, so yeah... I'll just go feel crappy in a corner.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the large doses of random fluffiness.

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Ruby and Weiss landed on snow, a light crunch beneath their feet as they touched down. They threw off their parachutes, and scanned the area. Around them, the Schnee soldiers, in white combat gear, were landing, and forming into their units, preparing to move out. Yang and Blake had landed a little way off, each wrapped in a white cloak to camouflage themselves against the snow.

Each of them wore a headset, with earpiece and microphone, and the two girls heard Blake's voice over in their ears. _"We're ready, you two okay?"_

"Yep, we'll go first then," Ruby replied, stepping over to Weiss and lifting her into her arms, before speeding off into the distance.

Weiss looked back at the soldiers, who were now hard to discern against the snowy background. As she looked, another thing caught her eye: the rose petals streaming from behind Ruby were white, rather than their usual red.

"Your petals change colour?" she asked surprised.

"What, my semblance? Yeah... you should have seen it when I was wearing some of Yang's clothes once."

"Why?"

"They were sunflower petals..."

Weiss giggled a little, but asked no further, as the pair sped across the mountainside. They were heading to a ridge, slightly North of the place that the Schnee expedition had made their transmission from. When they reached the ridge, Ruby skidded to a stop, sliding a little way in the snow, and both girls immediately got down low.

Weiss pulled out a pair of field-glasses, scanning the area, while Ruby took out Crescent Rose, keeping it in its rifle form, using the scope to search for enemies.

"There! Just below the ridge there's a cave I think," Ruby said.

Weiss looked where she was indicating, and with the finer vision from the binoculars, looked at the hole in the mountainside. It was a cave, but that alone would not have attracted much interest. The interesting part was the small light from inside the cave.

Putting a finger to her headset, Weiss spoke into the microphone. "Everyone, we have identified a suspicious cave, proceed towards it with caution. Coordinates are..."

While Weiss listed off a string of numbers, Ruby kept her eye on the cave entrance. Suddenly the small light from inside flickered for a moment, as though something had passed in front of it.

"Weiss, someone's moving about in there," she hissed.

"We have confirmed movement, proceed with extreme caution," Weiss spoke into the headset once more." She then returned her attention to the cave, watching carefully.

* * *

"We have confirmed aircraft, they're on their way," Eleanor said as she rounded a corner, walking up to Xin.

"Where did they land?"

"Half a mile Southwest of here. They'll be here soon."

Xin nodded. He had stationed himself mid-way between the front lines and the room Aelius was in. "Now we just have to wait."

Eleanor nodded, and leaned against the wall across from Xin, both of them turning to look down the corridor, towards the entrance. Xin glanced at his watch "10:46... we'll have to hold out for about an hour if Aelius is going to have everything ready."

"You think we can do it?"

"One of the most elite groups of mercenaries in the business, against four schoolgirls and the Schnee private army?" Xin chuckled, "Well let's just say I'm most afraid of the schoolgirls."

"Really?" Eleanor gave a lopsided grin. "You're that scared of them?"

"They _are _the ones who dealt with Cinder Fall, and she scared me." Xin sighed, "We'll just have to see how it goes."

* * *

The soldiers had arrived near the cave-mouth, encircling it at about 100 yards. Ruby and Weiss had sneaked up to be above the cave, Weiss creating a glyph so that they could stand right above it. Once they were in position, the troops made their slow way to each side of the cave.

From inside, the AEGX troops watched their enemies' moves from hidden cameras, waiting for their next move with bated breath.

Once the everyone outside was in position, Weiss withdrew a red crystal from a pouch she had brought with her. In her hand, it began to glow, heat rippling off it. As its glow intensified, she ducked down, and hurled the crystal under the glyph, into the cave, throwing herself against the wall of rock immediately after.

Flames burst up, fire and smoke bursting from the dust crystal, and the Schnee soldiers ran swiftly into the cave, under cover of the smokescreen.

Bullets flew as Ruby and Weiss leaped down and entered after the others. Yang and Blake were at the front, hurling themselves at the lines of AEGX soldier shooting at them. Yang threw herself over a barricade, straight into one soldier, before wheeling round and punching another straight in the face. Blake leaped in behind her, shooting a soldier who had attempted to take Yang out from behind, before baring her blade and burying it in the arm of another attacker.

The Schnee troops took up positions and exchanged fire, several on both sides of the fight going down. Weiss stood in front of one line of Schnee troops, raising a glyph as a one-way barrier, protecting her side, while avoiding obstructing their shots.

The line that had been shooting at the unit Weiss was protecting ducked behind their barricade, preparing to deal with he barrier, when a stream of white petals appeared before their eyes. Several of them slumped as Ruby's blade carved an arc through them.

Ruby scanned the battlefield. There was no sign of any of the higher-ranking officers. "Weiss! They're stalling. We need to break through!" She ducked behind the barricade as she shouted, taking cover from the cross-fire.

Weiss leaped across glyphs, avoiding bullets at every turn, landing next to Ruby. "You think we can just break through?"

"We should be able to manage it." Ruby called over to the others, "Blake! Yang! Back us up!"

Ruby rand towards the corridor leading deeper into the cave. Two lines of soldiers opened fire on her, but she ran right past the bullets, swinging her scythe to force the gunmen back. As she halted, Weiss leaped from a glyph, flying over the shooters' heads, releasing a whip of flames from her blade.

The soldiers were barely given a moment to recover from the fire attack before Blake and Yang threw themselves into them. The pair laid into those who came close, while Ruby and Weiss positioned for another attack. Yang and Blake ducked back, allowing Ruby and Weiss to switch in. The lines crumpled under the assault, allowing the four girls to break through, and into the corridor beyond. A few shots followed them down the corridor, but soon they were far enough down the twisting cave that the bullets could not reach them.

Ruby led the way down the tunnel, the other three hot on her heels. It was one path, with no diverging tunnels, making it easy for the girls to find their way towards the centre. They still had little idea of what was waiting for them, but that was all part of the fun.

They reached an area where the cave opened out into a large cavern, and were immediately greeted by gunfire. Throwing themselves against the walls of the tunnel by the cavern, they looked in tentatively, seeing another ten soldiers, paired up, taking cover in various areas of the room. Each had a rifled trained on the tunnel entrance.

Weiss reached into her pouch for another dust crystal, drawing out a black crystal. Once more, she activated its power, as blackness emanated from the crystal. She hurled it into the room, where a bullet struck it, shattering it. The pieces showered down across the room, and, from each piece, shadows rose, blocking all sight in the room.

Under cover of the magical darkness, the girls ran into the cavern, heading towards the locations of their enemies, each to one location that they had remembered. As the darkness began to fade, they struck out at the soldiers, swiftly taking them out. The last pair opened fire, but could not stop Yang, who was the closest to them, from applying her fists to their face.

"Well that wasn't too bad," Yang smirked as the two soldiers hit the floor.

"Let's keep going," Blake said, turning to the only other tunnel leading from the cavern.

"Seriously though, these guys are really bad at fighting," Ruby commented. "Aren't they meant to be, like, some of the best mercenaries in the business?"

"You have to bear in mind, these are the rank and file of the organisation. They don't have their own colour-association, or special equipment. Heck, we never even found out their names," Yang replied. "They're the kind of people who only exist to remind everyone of how amazing the rest of us are."

Weiss rubbed her forehead, as Yang's words somehow gave her a mild migraine. "Yes, thank you Yang. Next you'll be telling us that they don't even have names, and are actually just referred to as 'Soldier 1,' etcetera."

"Don't ridiculous, of course they have names, like Bill, remember him?" Yang smiled brightly, thinking back on the sole competent guard at the Schnee dust plant.

"Whatever happened to him anyway?" Blake asked.

* * *

Bill was surprised by the fact that he sneezed. He was on a tropical island, taking a much-deserved vacation with his wife and daughter. There was no reason he should have sneezed, he was on a warm beach, and he never got hay-fever or anything of the like.

"You okay Daddy?" his little girl asked, looking up from the sandcastle she was building with him.

"I'm fine thank you," he patted the little girl on the head, beaming down at her. "Maybe someone was just talking about me."

"Daddy, you know that only happens in stories."

Bill chuckled, "Right you are, right you are.

* * *

"Alpha Team, do you read me?" Xin spoke into a comm. No response came.

"They down?" Eleanor asked.

"Presumably, so those four should be here..." Xin looked up as he heard running feet. "...right about now."

The four girls burst into the cavern where Xin and Eleanor were waiting, instantly readying themselves to attack.

"Four vs two? Really?" Xin sighed, "That's kinda unfair."

"You guys had like, twice as many soldiers as us," Yang pointed out.

"Yeah, but the line infantry are just there to fight each other, and make the rest of us look good," Xin replied.

"See! This guy gets it!" Yang exclaimed, looking over at Weiss.

"Can we please focus?" Weiss asked, exasperation clear in her voice.

"Yeah! We need to concentrate on the unfairness of this fight!" Xin pointed an accusing finger at Yang.

"So you're saying you can't take four girls at once? What kind of man are you?" Yang grinned.

"What can I say? I'm just devoted," Xin took his weapon off his back. "Though I will show you how well I handle my spear."

"Well let me treat you with my hands." Yang took a fighting stance.

"Yang, what have I told you about flirting with the enemy?" Blake glared sideways as she readied herself.

"Don't worry Blake. You know you'll always be my favourite pu..."

"ENOUGH!" Weiss glared daggers at Yang. "Can we please get on to the whole beating each other senseless thing, like reasonable, polite people?"

"I don't think that's how it works," Ruby mused.

"Ruby darling, can you please just take out your scythe and prepare to fight? Pretty please?"

Ruby was about to argue, but Weiss's smile bared her teeth, making her look like a beowolf about to bite, at least in Ruby's mind. Ruby wisely kept her mouth shut.

The two sides turned their full focus to each other, staring one-another down. The four girls were running through the information they had. These were the two they had the best idea about, in terms of combat capabilities. Neither used dust it seemed, and both of them had known semblances. But knowing your enemy's technique and being able to fight against it were two wildly different things in this case. As single touch from the spearman could render one of them useless, and as the other girls seemed to be able to bend her bullets, dodging would be made very difficult.

The four had previously discussed tactics for dealing with each of the AEGX members, but even so, they would have to tread very carefully, and constantly avoid the pair's attacks.

Xin was the first to move, drawing back his spear and running at the girls. They readied themselves to dodge, but Xin never reached them. Instead, when he got about two metres away, he slammed his hand to the ground, and a wave of force rippled across the rock of the tunnel.

The girls felt heavy. Yang recognised the feeling, and while it was vastly much weaker than the previous time, knew exactly what it was. "He's using his semblance!"

Xin smiled, "Clever girl."

A hail of bullets flew over his head, heading for the girls, as Eleanor unleashed a volley from her pistols. The bullets followed strange arcs, curving downwards faster than the girls anticipated due to the heightened gravity in the area. The extra weight they were experiencing also threw off their dodges, making them move less elegantly than they usually would, and also less far. Eleanor seemed to have taken that into account, as she had fired her shots all in a clump, which the girls would normally leap away from with ease. Now, however, they took several hits each, failing to clear the distance.

Weiss threw up a glyph to shield them from some of the bullets. The other three opened fire, adjusting their aim as they quickly learned to deal with the added curvature of their shots. Even so, Xin seemed easily capable of dodging, unaffected by the extra weight which afflicted the girls, while Eleanor used her barriers to hold off the attacks.

Eventually, Ruby decided she had had enough, and sped towards Xin, swinging her scythe as she approached. Xin dodged aside, expecting her to be thrown off, but she simply did not slow down, hurling herself past him.

Xin turned his gaze back toward Eleanor, as Ruby ran straight for her. "Shit..."

A moment of lost concentration gave Yang and Blake an opening, firing at Xin, and hitting their mark. He stumbled back, before lowering himself and leaping at the girls, targeting Blake with a thrust of his spear. The tip was knocked aside as Yang's gauntleted hand slammed it aside.

Meanwhile, Ruby had reached Eleanor, forcing the woman to swap her weapons into knife-form. As Ruby's heavy blows kept coming, Eleanor ducked and weaved through the strikes, slashing and stabbing wherever she could. Ruby's clothes were slashed in a few places, but her aura protected her from any real harm. She raised her blade and brought it downwards towards Eleanor's head.

The scythe halted in mid-air, a collection of the pixel-like barriers holding it, preventing Ruby from completing her swing. Eleanor took her chance and stabbed at Ruby, whose aura could do little to protect her against so many direct hits. She bit back a scream as the daggers cut into her stomach.

An arc of lightning flew across the cavern, striking Eleanor and throwing her off her feet. The barriers holding Ruby's scythe vanished, and Ruby stumbled back, looking over at the source of the bolt. Weiss stood, a crumbling violet crystal in her right hand, glaring at Eleanor. "Ruby, you promised you wouldn't get hurt!"

"Sorry," Ruby muttered, even as her aura began to repair the damage she had been dealt. "And thank you."

"Save it for later," Weiss raised her rapier, and Ruby turned to see Eleanor pulling herself up.

"Dammit! That hurt!" Eleanor raised her weapons, back in pistol-form, and opened fire. The bullets bounced all around the cavern, as Ruby and Weiss dodged them. But for each time they dodged one, it was simply reflected back around, forcing them to dodge again. The fight had become an endurance contest: which would run out first? Ruby and Weiss's stamina, or Eleanor's capacity to use her semblance?

As the pair dodged countless bullets, their team-mates were in no less of a bind. Yang and Blake were taking it in turns to try to land a blow on Xin, but to little avail. They could not get too close without risking him using his semblance on them, but neither of them had much reach with their weapons. Blake's was longer, but even the length of her sword risked her going too close.

Blake took another swipe at him, but backed away before she could connect the blow, as her attempted to reach out and grab her. A single touch would take them out, but that being the case made it near-impossible to land even one blow.

"Come on ladies, it's not that hard to beat me, Aelius managed it by himself once," Xin smirked. He wanted to rile the pair up, and from what he knew of Yang, that would not be too hard in her case. The problem was Blake, but he was sure he could deal with her one-on-one.

"Shut it you smug bastard!" Yang was fuming, literally. Her hair was blazing, and her eyes flickering red. Her rage was not yet at its peak, but was getting close. Xin knew that if this kept up, she would soon be able to end the fight with a single blow. But then again, so could he.

Blake took a moment to think, to consider the fight, and all the ways they could end this, before finding the solution she needed. While Xin was focused on Yang, she rushed at him, leaping for him.

Xin heard her charge, and spun around, reaching out to grab her. Yang watched in terror as Blake was grabbed, and her form began to slump. But even as it happened, Blake smiled.

Blake wrapped her arms around Xin's neck, her new weight suddenly on his shoulders, pulling him down as her body fell, leaving her hanging as Xin was pulled forwards. He struggled, but trying to move her weighty limbs became a near-impossible task. As the man struggled beneath her, Blake turned her gaze to Yang, "Finish it."

Yang's eyes had turned a deep bloody crimson, and she hurled her fist at the man, striking him squarely in the jaw. Xin fell to the ground, and Blake released her grip, shattering into pieces.

"What the...?" Yang stared at the shards of Blake's clone. "You are an amazing kitty Blake."

"I know darling, but you can keep praising me." Blake stepped from the shadows, a smile on her face, and without any extra weight.

"Hm... maybe later, I think we should help those two," Yang indicated the other end of the cavern, where Ruby and Weiss were now cowering behind a glyph, swatting bullets away to the best of their ability.

"Fair enough." Blake and Yang ran over, leaping over the cowering pair, straight for Eleanor.

Ruby and Weiss looked up at the pair jumping over their heads. "Weiss, are we getting horribly out-awesomed?"

"No, because that's not a word." Weiss removed her glyph, and the pair ran to join their friend.

Eleanor stood, her back to a wall, looking round at the four girls surrounding her. "Well this really isn't fair."

"Tough," Yang replied, "Now drop your weapons and the four of us won't have to rough you up too much.

"Oh... you thought I meant four vs one was't fair?" Eleanor smiled, "Not exactly what I was thinking."

A hand rested on Yang's shoulder, and a familiar feeling made its way through her body. "Oh fu..." She slumped as her weight became countless times higher, falling to the ground. Xin stood behind her, clearly in pain, and moving slowly, but still standing. The side of his face was one large bruise, and he glared down at Yang.

"THAT is for all of the dental work I will no doubt have to get now."

The blunt end of Ruby's scythe slammed into Xin's face. Weiss used her dust to make the floor slick with ice, and Blake kicked Xin in the stomach, hurling him across the cave, sliding across the icy floor into a wall.

"THAT is for making my girlfriend conscious about her weight!" Blake glared at the unconscious man, then turned her look of malice to Eleanor.

Eleanor looked around the three girls, who all had murder in their eyes, and dropped her weapons, "I surrender..."

The three girls closed in, and Eleanor slumped to the floor, fear overcoming her as the three approached her, baring demonic smiles.

* * *

Bill was really worried now, he was shivering, in spite of how warm the surroundings were. It was as though something truly terrifying was happening, a sense of dread had filled him.

"Daddy? Are you okay? You look scared."

Bill looked down at his little girl, smiling up at him brightly, and all the bad feelings vanished. "It's nothing, Daddy's just a little tired I think."

The girl looked a little worried, but when her father beamed at her, she went back to playing in the sand on the tropical beach.

* * *

With Eleanor tied up, the three girls looked down at Yang, who had given up on getting up. "Well, this is going to be a fun wait; this stone is freezing."

Blake frowned, then knelt by her girlfriend's side, "Sorry, we should have made sure he was out of the fight before we jumped in again."

"No biggie, I can wait."

"But we can't," Weiss frowned, looking down the tunnel which the two AEGX members had been guarding.

"You two go ahead, I'll stay with Yang, and finish tying that guy up," Blake indicated Xin, who was still passed out on the floor.

Weiss wanted to argue, it was dangerous to split up, but they had no choice. "Very well, let's go Ruby."

"Yeah. Keep my sister safe Blake!"

"I'll do my best," Blake called out after the pair as they hurried down the tunnel.

"So, two down on each side..." Weiss muttered as the pair ran across the stone floor.

"Could be worse, and besides, Blake and Yang aren't 'down' exactly."

"Ever the optimist, aren't you?"

Ruby beamed, "And don't you love it?"

"Well of course, but there's a time and a place for that."

They kept running for a few minutes, before another large cavern opened out before them. The pair skidded to a halt, looking around the area.

"I think this is it!" Ruby said, excitedly.

"Whatever gave you that impression? Was it the giant cavern, vastly much taller than anything else we've been in."

"Well..."

"Or maybe the huge doors cut into the walls over there."

"That helps, but..."

"Or maybe, just maybe, the fact that lots of small tunnels lead here, indicating it as the central hub."

"All of those..." Ruby said, then pointed, "But mostly the fact that one of the top brass is standing there guarding the door."

In front of the huge double-doors, the woman they had encounter the previous evening, with the dust-encrusted shield, stood guard, watching the pair who had approached. She held her long knife at the ready, back-handing it, while holding her shield out in front of her.

Weiss nodded, "Yeah, I'll give you that: it's a bit of a give-away."

"So Xin and Elle didn't manage to stop you?" Galina smiled, "Somehow I thought you'd get through. But I do see you've lost a pair of companions."

"Where's your boss? Why won't he come out and fight us?" Weiss raised her rapier as she spoke, readying herself for the inevitable fight which would soon begin.

"Aelius is busy, I'm afraid I'll have to entertain you for the moment." Galina bowed a little, "I am Captain Galina Day, and I will be your opponent for the time being."

The three took their stances, watching each other carefully, each waiting to see who would make the first move.

* * *

A/N: So, here we are, fighting and trying to hide the scars... wait a minute...

But yes, I hope you enjoyed that. I am now no longer sick! I think... I still have a very slight cough, but I'm essentially fine as of yesterday. I have to say, I was worried I would have to miss next week's update because of being ill for two weeks straight, but it should now be fine (I've already done half of the next chapter). So yeah, lots of action... and more to come next time, as well as some bomb-drops... literal and otherwise... fu fu fu...

But yes, opinions on the action sequences would be much appreciated. I'm slightly annoyed at myself for setting this climax up in a cave... there's only so much exciting stuff one can do with that. Not like the bomb-rigged building of another recent scene I wrote... there's not much to do in a cave. But whatever, I think it came out fine... Anyways, for now, that's all.

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Aelius stood within a huge cavern, at the edge of a deep hole. It was situated directly under the room he had spent the day setting up, and now he was just about ready to begin. He gazed at the massive gash in the rock in front of him, a vein of gold running through the grey stone, as wide as a church door, as deep as a well, running deep into the darkness beneath him.

Just being in the presence of the vein made Aelius's body feel alive, energy seeming to run across his skin, a tingling sensation making the hairs on his body stand on end. Many people would barely notice the feeling, but a dust user like himself could feel the sheer power of so much dust gathered together in one place.

A rumbling sounded from the doors to the cavern, behind Aelius, and he smirked. "Galina must be entertaining our guests."

A flurry of red and white engulfed Galina, as rapier thrusts and scythe strikes struck out at her. Yet each blow bounced off her shield, as the golden metal intercepted every stab and every swipe.

Ruby dodged back as a slash of the long knife in Galina's hand came a little bit too close to her face for comfort. Weiss ducked aside, stepping back to stand by Ruby's side. "Any ideas?"

"Her reactions are just too fast..." Ruby muttered. She stared at Galina, whose eyes were fixed on the blade of her knife. Ruby glanced at the knife, seeing Galina's eyes reflected in the metal. "Why's she doing that?"

"What?" Weiss asked.

"Looking at us in her knife."

Weiss glanced at the knife, seeing Galina's eyes reflected. She paled, "Galina... that name derives from 'Helen.' A famous woman with that name had the ability to see the future reflected in metal... she usually used her dagger."

Galina smiled, looking up at Weiss spoke. "You're right. That would be my semblance. I see the future written in reflections. They say that during the war, one side once besieged a city for a dozen years just to get their hands on my great-great-grandmother." She titled her dagger ever so slightly. "So tell me, how do you propose to beat me when I see your every move before you make it?"

Weiss glanced at Ruby, then smirked. "You can only 'see' the future then?"

Galina smiled, "Clever, clever..."

Weiss pulled out a black crystal from her pouch. "How far can you see in the dark?" The darkness of the crystal flooded the cavern.

Galina raised her shield, and a white crystal set in it started to glow brightly, forcing back the darkness. In the blade of her knife, Galina saw a blade coming from her left, and she threw her shield to the side, just before Ruby swung at her, the scythe striking the shield.

"Did you really think that would work?" Galina smirked, then caught motion appearing in her shield, a white object moving behind her. She spun around to see Weiss appearing from the cloud of darkness, a glowing purple crystal in her hand. Lightning shot from the crystal, forcing Galina to dodge, unable to block by any means. As she threw herself to the side, she saw Ruby move aside, not in a reflection, but in the flesh. Without time to react properly, she turned her shield to take as much of the sideways slash as she could. The tip to the blade still cut her, red running from her arm, colouring the back of her shield with a few drops.

Galina lashed out, slashing at Ruby, her knife cutting into the girl's shoulder. Galina's triumphant smirk was soon replaced with shock, as blood dyed the blade red, coating the mirrored surface.

Ruby smirked, biting back the pain. She had denied Galina some of her ability to see the future: that was worth a little cut like this one. From behind their target, Ruby saw Weiss lunging at Galina with speed, frost gathering around the blade of her rapier.

Galina turned, slamming her shield into the point of the rapier, a red crystal glowing from its setting in the shield. Ice met flame, and the blade and shield steamed from the contact. The once shined outer surface of the shield was now smeared from the steam, rendering it useless as a mirror.

Galina ducked away from the two, putting her once more between them and the door, but now she was out of breath and worried. She was used to fighting Grimm, or leading a fight against humans. Grimm did not bleed, and when she was in charge she did not need to worry about people obscuring the reflections she used. This was not a fight she was used to.

She looked in the back of her shield, as motion caught her eye. A small smile adorned her face, as she saw what it was. "Well, it's been fun, but I'm afraid that this show's over."

The doors behind her creaked open, slowly moving apart. Stood in the doorway was Aelius, sword in hand and wearing a huge smirk. "What are you saying Galina? The main 'antagonist' has just arrived. Now it's show-time!"

* * *

"I can move my hands now!" Yang called out from the floor, as Blake checked the knots she had tied around Xin.

"Any chance of you getting up soon?"

"Nope... man this sucks. The only one allowed to put me on my back is you, not some strange man I've never met before."

"Would you please stop subjecting me to your flirting," Eleanor spoke from where she was tied. "I'm sure it qualifies as some sort of torture."

"Hey!" Yang glared from her place on the floor. "Blake and I will flirt as much as we like, thank you very much! Anyone who says otherwise will have to taste my fist... once I can get up..."

"That's not a very convincing threat when you can barely move your arms," Blake commented.

"Whatever," Yang pouted, then sideways-glanced at Blake to see her reaction. When Blake did nothing, Yang returned to her pouting.

"Urgh... my head... what happened..." Xin's eyes flickered open, and he gaze around the cavern. "Oh... yeah... I remember now."

"Xin, you okay?" Eleanor asked.

"Well, I have a headache, and... ice-burn I suppose, but otherwise, just dandy."

"If you're talking like that then you're fine."

Blake glanced over at Eleanor, who returned the look. Silently, understanding passed between them. 'I know the feeling' passed wordlessly through their gaze from each to the other.

"So... you're keeping an eye on us while your friends go and fight?" Xin asked. "I suppose that is necessary, given the circumstances," he looked down at Yang. "That's the second time I've floored you now, right?"

"Don't give her ammunition," Eleanor put in quickly. "Or we'll be weighed down by innuendo for hours."

"You think she'd only manage hours?" Blake interjected. "Once she managed to go for a whole day just on one line."

"I was just telling Weiss in detail about where she should stick _it_. Man, can't make a joke around here can you?"

"I feel you," Xin rolled his eyes.

"Only Blake is allowed to feel me!"

"Yang, stop it, or there won't be any feeling for a week," Blake glared at her girlfriend, who seemed to be mentally weighing up the value of her joke against the likelihood of Blake making good on her threat. The threat won out, and she stayed silent.

"So anyway, now that we've got you two here and awake, start talking, what the Hell was your plan?" Blake glared at Xin, waiting for an answer.

"Tell me, why should I say anything?" Xin asked.

"Because otherwise, when Yang gets off the floor and decides just how nice she thinks your face would look decorating the wall, I won't stop her."

"That is a good reason," Xin nodded, seeming more impressed by the threat than scared of it. "Well... where to begin?"

* * *

Aelius stepped out through the doors, his smirk firmly holding its position on his face. "Galina here." He took out a deep blue crystal, which glowed in his hand. A small stream of water flowed out of it, washing Galina's knife clean, then flowing over her shield. "Now, how about we all go inside and talk like reasonable individuals."

"Talk? What on Vytal are you on?" Weiss brandished her rapier, ready to start a fight at the drop of a hat.

"Now now, is that the way an heiress speaks when somebody wants a little chat?" Aelius turned, walking with Galina through the doors, in the cavern beyond.

Ruby and Weiss glanced at one another, before slowly following the pair inside. Within, both girls had their eyes immediately drawn to the golden vein running through the rock.

"That much time dust... in one place, that should be impossible, it should have transformed into other kinds by now..." Weiss mumbled words which should have made sense, but made no change to the impossible view that greeted them.

"I was just as amazed the first time I laid eyes on it," Aelius commented. "But here it is. The sheer quantity means that time is distorted around it, effectively creating a barrier, preventing it from reacting to form other types of dust. Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Then this is what you were hiding?" Ruby asked.

"This, and a few other things upstairs," Aelius nodded. "Now tell me little heiress, what do you think I, an expert at manipulating time dust, could do with a vein this large?"

"Usually, time dust alters the localised flow of time for an individual or area, but with this much..." She tore her gaze away, staring at Aelius. "You could affect the entire planet."

"Bingo! So tell me, if I can alter the time-flow of the whole planet, what can I also do?"

"Maintain it in a small area, while changing it over the rest of the world, you could then reverse it for the rest of Vytal, effectively meaning that..." Weiss bit her lip. "You could time-travel."

Aelius nodded, "Quite correct. With this, I can reverse time across the world, and send me and my friends back."

"You'd go back in time? For what nefarious, dastardly plan?" Ruby levelled her gun at Aelius, ready to start a fight.

"To save my sister... among other things."

Ruby blinked, "What?"

"My sister was killed by thugs three years ago. My selfish reason for doing all of this is to save her. Is that not what any older sibling would do? Is it not, Yang Xiao Long?"

"Yeah, that's about the size of it."

Ruby and Weiss both turned at the sound of Yang's voice. She stood in the doorway, along with Blake, looking in at the four gathered inside.

* * *

Eisen Schnee was up to his ears in paperwork. The little incident in Vale, combined with some poorly-timed factory issues in Atlas had left him rather a lot to do. He was now swiftly signing documents, hunched over his desk in a most unrespectable manner. It did not matter: there was nobody there to see him, but he was sure his wife would nag him later that he was developing a hunch from leaning over his desk too much.

A buzz on the phone caught his attention, and he pressed a button to receive the message from his secretary. "Yes?"

"_Mr Schnee, Mr Clement has just come in. He says he would like to speak to you if you have the time."_

Eisen sighed a little. His old friend had a knack for arriving when Eisen was busy, but not tied down by other people. "Send him up."

"_Yes sir." _The call cut, and Eisen signed a few remaining documents before a knock sounded on his office door.

"Come in!" The door opened, admitting his old friend. "Hubert, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Mr Clement eyed the paperwork on his friend's desk. "I hope I'm not interrupting you..."

"Don't worry about it, I could use a break. So, what brings you here? As we're in working hours I assume it's not just for a friendly chat."

"It is and it isn't. I was in Atlas on business, and thought I should drop by," Mr Clement replied as he took a seat in front of the desk. "You see, I would like to ask you something about your daughter."

"Which one?"

"Take a guess."

"Weiss?"

"Correct. You see, I've been hearing a few odd things lately. It seems you've been flatly turning down all the proposals for her for the last while, ever since your visit to Vale."

"Well she's made it amply clear she doesn't want me to set her up with someone." It was not a lie, just not the whole truth either.

"How clear?" Clement asked. He gave Eisen a look, clearly seeing through Eisen's evasion of the truth. "She would not, by any chance, have someone in mind for her future spouse, would she?"

"Who would you think that was?"

"Ruby Rose."

Eisen sighed, shrugging and holding his hands out in a gesture of defeat. "What tipped you off?"

"Well, I could see the way they treated each other at the party, and at dinner. Both times there was affection, but the second time they seemed a little... closer perhaps. So tell me, what's the plan?"

"Plan?" Eisen raised a brow.

"You can't just let your daughter and heir marry a nobody right? You'd lose a lot of respect. But you haven't done anything about the situation either, suggesting that you're okay with it. So, you must have a plan."

"Are you psychic or something? I swear I can't hide anything from you. Yes, yes, there's a plan. At the moment I'm saying to everyone that I won't consider Weiss's engagement until she's finished with school, or at least until she's nearly finished. Then in the summer between their third and fourth years, they run off and get married, I pretend to be angry but eventually give in so as not to lose my daughter, I lose a little bit of face, but not as much, they get married, end of story."

Clement nodded as Eisen explained, taking everything in and considering it. "I must say, that's not a bad idea. But I think I have a better one."

"I'm all ears," Eisen replied.

"What if we turned Miss Rose from a nobody to an heiress on par with you daughter."

Eisen stared at the man like he was crazy. "How?"

Clement smiled, "It's very simple..."

* * *

"You came after us? But weren't you looking after the prisoners?" Weiss exclaimed, staring at her two team-mates who had just appeared.

"Them? Here!" Yang dragged two figures, still tied up, into the room, chucking them down on the ground before her. "Now you!" Yang pointed at Aelius. "Is what this guy told us the truth? You can travel back in time and change the past?"

"That's the plan, yes," Aelius replied, smiling politely down at Yang.

"Then Blake and I want two tickets on the trip," Yang glared up, as though the idea gave her a bad taste in her mouth.

"What are you doing Yang? You realise that doing that would wipe the people of 'now' out of existence? Everything that happened, over all that time, would never be!" Weiss stared at the blonde, horror in her eyes.

"And all the dead would live again. How many people have died, how many have been killed, by us and by others? How many of those could we stop?" Yang shouted back. "Think about it Weiss, we could stop the White Fang from turning bad, we could prevent Cinder Fall from ever becoming a threat. How many people could we save?"

"But Yang..." Ruby looked almost as desperate as Weiss at this point, but her words were swiftly cut off by Yang.

"Ruby, we could save your mother!"

The colour drained from Ruby's face. Yang's words echoed through the cavern. Such an idea had occurred to her, in the back of her mind, the moment Aelius said he would save his sister's life. But now that Yang had said it, the voice in the back of her head could no longer be ignored.

"Yang..." Weiss could see the hurt on Ruby's face, and threw a glare at the blonde. "How could you...? And Blake, you're going along with this?"

"I'm sorry, I know what you're saying Weiss, I understand it, but..." Blake stared at the ground, then turned her now determined gaze to Weiss. "I never though I could undo all the wrong I did, but this is my chance. I can finally fix everything."

"You'll fix everything by erasing everything?" Weiss could not believe her ears. No, that was a lie, she could easily believe it all. Weiss had regrets, things she wished she had done differently, but nothing on the scale of the regrets the other three carried for their past. Weiss's regrets were born of the way she had treated those who were now close to her, they were fixed, but Ruby and Yang lost their mothers, in different ways, but the past still held the key for both of them, and Blake had the burden of everything she had done as a member of the White Fang. This was their one chance. She looked at Ruby, who had turned her face to the ground, hiding her expression.

"Summer Rose..."

Weiss started at the words which came from Ruby's mouth. She knew the name, but had never heard Ruby say it. The girl never mentioned her mother's name aloud.

"Summer Rose died over a decade ago. The woman who gave birth to me, my mother, is dead, and nobody, not even another version of her, can replace her!" Ruby's eyes, filled with tears, glared up at her sister. "And erasing the past... it won't destroy the pain I still feel, and it will erase the time I spent with you three! It'll destroy the time I spent with the one person I would not trade for anyone or anything!" Ruby raised her scythe, and slammed it into the ground. "I won't let you do this... I won't let you wipe it all away!"

"Then I'm sorry, Ruby." Blake drew her sword, taking a battle stance. "I have to undo the past, I have to fix my mistakes."

"Even if you hate me for it... I have to do this," Yang activated her gauntlets, readying herself. "I'm sorry, but I can't give up this chance."

Weiss looked between her friends and her girlfriend, fear written all over her face. This could not be happening. Were they really going to fight?

"Weiss, didn't you lose people to the White Fang? We can save them," Blake spoke, begging Weiss with her eyes, pleading her to consider it, to talk Ruby down. None of the four wanted this fight, but they could not just back down either.

The memories of those she had lost, aunts, uncles, cousins all flew through Weiss's head. Nobody as close to her as Summer Rose was to Ruby, but still, they were important people to her. But one look at the redhead beside her made her mind up for her.

"They are gone, dead and buried. I'm not going to let their ghosts be brought into the world." Weiss raised her rapier. "Stand down, or have at thee!"

* * *

A/N: Apologies for the relative lateness, but stuff happened. Also, yes, this chapter is a bit short, but this is where the break seemed most natural, so... whatever. But yes, the girls are standing off... much excitement. White Rose vs Bumblebee, who will emerge victorious? Mwhahaha... *ahem* anyway, yes... so yeah, many many action sequences to write... I have to say, it get's a little tiring, but, ya know, there's only maybe two more chapters of this arc, possibly 3, we'll see.

'Till Eternity Ends

E.D.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Blades cut the air, as Blake and Weiss rushed at each other. Metal clashed, and the pair began the sword dance. The pair had fought often enough to know each others' styles, and the slightest tells they each made, indicating their next moves. Weiss had just fought someone who could read the future, and this was little different. Weiss triggered her dust rounds, making her blade blaze with flame, adding fire to the dance the two performed.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Yang were still staring each other down. "I don't wanna hurt you Ruby, but it's for your own good."

Ruby's glare was blank, devoid of emotion. "I won't let you do it. I won't... I won't..." A manic look crossed her face, and tears ran down her cheeks. "I won't!" She rushed at Yang, running at top speed, bringing her scythe behind her, the blade cutting the air behind her.

She leaped as she reached Yang, throwing all her momentum at her sister, as the scythe-blade was dragged towards her at colossal speed.

Yang threw herself aside as the blade cut through the space she had been moments before. Ruby had expected the dodge, and twisted her body, letting her feet hit the cave wall, which cracked under the impact, then leaping away while simultaneously triggering her semblance once more, speeding at her sister, spinning around with her weapon carving an arc towards Yang.

Yang rolled aside, landing on one knee and opening fire with her gauntlets as Ruby flew past. When she stopped, there were small holes dotting the cloak Ruby wore, but the girl herself seemed uninjured.

Compared to the sisters, Weiss and Blake's fight was relatively contained. Swords clashed repeatedly, small cuts appearing on one or other of them from time to time, but nothing major. Each knew the other too well to allow a finishing blow through.

After a particularly wide slash from Blake, Weiss flipped back and landed some way away, breaking the fight for a moment. Weiss put her right hand to her dust pouch, feeling for the remaining crystals. She had four left: from memory they were two ice, one force and one time element. In the canister of her sword she had the time and force rounds remaining. They were the only advantage she had over the faunus, she needed to use the dust she had wisely.

A thought came to her: she had far from a limited supply, but...

Blake cut her thoughts off, as she leaped at the heiress, swinging her two blades together. Weiss had no more time to think of the repercussions, only that she had to try the one thing that might end the fight quickly.

She summoned a glyph beneath her feet, and used it to leap away, generating more glyphs each time she needed to land. Blake was shooting at her now, having worked out that Weiss had a plan, but not what it was. Then she saw where the heiress was heading, and shouted out "Yang, stop Weiss! She's heading for the dust vein!"

Yang ducked a swipe from Ruby, her eyes tracking the girl in white, who had made her way nearly to the vein. A red blade interposed itself in her line of sight, and she had to dodge again. "I'm a little busy here!"

Blake ran towards the wall with the dust, but stopped as she reached the point where the floor fell away, a massive hole greeting her, darkness enshrouding its bottom. She looked over at the cave wall a little way off, and hurled her pistol at the wall. The blade on the back sunk into the wall, and she used the ribbon to swing over. As she hit the wall, she dug the sheath into the stone, and pulled herself up the ribbon to the pistol. From there, using the rough surface of the wall and her weapon to provide hand-holds, she began to scale the side.

From the side of the cavern, the AEGX members watched the fight. Galina had cut Xin and Eleanor free, though both were sitting on the ground, in no real state to get up.

"Going for the dust eh?" Xin commented, looking up as Weiss leaped from glyph to glyph, quickly approaching the golden vein. "Think she'll be able to handle it?"

"Not well," Aelius responded, "Remember how long it took me to be able to control it? I mean, she's not bad with dust, but not as good as I was when I first tried to use that vein. She'll probably manage something with it, but I doubt it will be what she wants."

Galina was looking worried, "Won't her using it be bad? If she used too much..."

"If she did that, I'd be amazed. No, I can only just control that much with the aid of machinery, and she won't cause it to destabilise just from using it. There's far more than we need there anyway, if she sat there and cast for a few weeks, maybe we'd need to start worrying." Aelius was watching with interest as he spoke, while Weiss landed next to the vein, standing on a glyph, staring at it close-up. Meanwhile, Blake had got about two thirds of the way up the wall, and was moving quickly. The two sisters were still locked in combat with each other, Ruby not wanting to give Yang a chance to interfere with Weiss.

Weiss looked at the golden dust, glimmering in front of her, and slowly reached out. The hairs all over her body stood on end, the air feeling charged by the power held so close-by. As she touched the dust, she felt a jolt, as though electricity had just run through her. She concentrated, and the dust glowed brightly.

Blake pulled herself onto the glyph, seeing a golden glow enveloping Weiss as she lifted herself up. Blake quickly swung her blade at Weiss. Her sword was knocked aside, as Weiss moved at impossible speed. Blake felt as though the world around her had slowed down, her motions feeling heavy. It felt like the haste spell Weiss often used, only in reverse, as though her body were moving through water, or maybe something thicker. She was unable to defend herself as Weiss attacked.

Myrtenaster struck home repeatedly, making Blake stagger back, her foot reaching the edge of the glyph, and she stumbled, falling backwards, catching a last glimpse of Weiss, who looked down at her with glowing golden eyes.

Gravity took over, and she plummeted. Still feeling the slowing effect, she stared up to where Weiss was making complex hand motions. She was using dust, but not in a way Blake recognised. When did Weiss learn that?

She felt her fall being arrested, as something caught her from underneath. Yellow filled her vision, as arms wrapped around her. Yang had broken away from her fight, and had caught her. Yang landed on a glyph that formed under her feet, then jumped away, landing safely on the cave floor a little way off from the hole.

Yang set Blake down, then turned to glare at Weiss, "You almost killed her... you..."

"She was quite safe. I was about to place a glyph under her when you made your jump." Weiss's voice echoed around the cave. It was an unnatural echo, as though multiple people spoke from her mouth. The golden glow still surrounded her, even though she was no longer touching the dust vein.

Yang still kept up her glare, but a small groan from Blake drew her attention back to her girlfriend. "Blakey? You okay?"

"She got me good," Blake was bleeding from several puncture wounds. They were all away from her vitals, but still debilitating. Blake was out of the fight, that much was for certain.

"Weiss... you bitch!" Yang slammed her fist into the ground by her, her hair blazing as her anger swelled within her. With red eyes she glared up at the heiress. "Come down and fight!"

"I apologise, but you won't get to take your anger out on me right now Yang," Weiss drew a dark red crystal from her pouch, one infused with power over force, and pushed the time dust now flowing through her into the crystal.

Yang felt herself be thrown aside by an unseen strike. She landed a little way from Blake, the wind knocked out of her. Weiss leaped from her glyph, jumping much further than should have been possible, and landed next to Yang, standing over her.

"Bitch..." Yang sputtered out the one word, still winded.

"I'm sorry..." Weiss placed the hand holding the crystal to Yang's forehead, and Yang jolted as she felt a shock run through her. She slumped, unconscious, her smouldering hair fading to its normal blonde.

Weiss stood, the crystal in her hand crumbling away. As she stood, and the rush from the fight fell away, she staggered. Why did she suddenly feel so weak? Just a moment ago she was fine. She did not understand.

"Weiss!" Ruby rushed over, concerned, as the heiress dropped her rapier, and the golden light which had surrounded her faded. Weiss fell into Ruby's arms, the heiress staring up into Ruby's eyes. The blue irises had returned, no longer glowing with the power of the dust.

"Ruby... sorry, I overdid it. Those two will be so mad with me later." Weiss smiled a little at the thought.

"Weiss, what's wrong?"

"I'm impressed, she controlled that much better than I expected. I was waiting for her to accidentally slow herself down or something," Aelius stepped up, a smirk on his face. "Though it looks like it drained her a lot. I remember when that was problem for me too."

Weiss used what strength she had to glare at Aelius. "You... bastard..."

"Hey, I'm just doing what I think is best. We disagree, but I'm currently winning. If you want to stop me, you have about half an hour... I'd better make sure you can't then..." He raised his hands then slammed his fists together. A golden circle appeared beneath him, then another surrounded Ruby and Weiss. Aelius chuckled, his eyes glowing golden, and every blood vessel in his body glowing the same colour. "By the way, I was born with brown eyes. Does that give you a little more of a hint? Not that it matters..."

Ruby slumped forwards, as she and Weiss lost consciousness.

* * *

"Weiss! Weiss! Wake up!"

Weiss started awake at the sound of a female voice. She blinked a few times, and her eyes focused on the ceiling of her dormitory room, odd... there should be something there, should there not? She was in her bed, back at Beacon. A figure leaned over her, and spoke to her.

"Weiss, you need to get up! We'll be late if you don't hurry."

Weiss pulled herself up, and stared at the girl, who looked to be the same age as Weiss. She had long pink hair, tied back in two tails, each held in place by a hair-band decorated with fake pink flowers. Weiss thought they were azalea blossoms, but was unsure, not being all that familiar with flowers. Ribbons wrapped around the flowers, holding them together.

'Pink... like posies?' Weiss thought to herself.

"What's wrong Weiss? You're giving me a weird look..." the girl stared at her, her brown eyes widening. "Something up?"

"No... sorry... Aetha," Weiss shook herself. What was wrong with her? Her friend had just woken her up, there was nothing odd happening, right?

'Friend? Why am I talking about my girlfriend like that? Even in my mind, that's just rude,' Weiss mused to herself.

"Sorry Aetha, I'm just half-asleep," she smiled at the pinkette. "Remind me, what time are we meeting your brother?"

"Eleven thirty, it's nearly ten now, and the airship leaves at half past."

"Right, I'll go and shower quickly then." As Weiss got up and went over to the bathroom, Yang stepped out. "Oh, morning Yang."

"Morning! You two love-birds are heading out today right?"

Weiss glared at Yang, "Aetha and I are going to meet her brother, yes."

"Gonna get big bro's approval eh?" Yang chuckled, "Makes me wish I had someone myself. Oh well, I'll just be hanging around in here." She waved a hand at the room. Something occurred to Weiss: there were only three beds.

Of course there were. Yang had reached the relics in the Emerald forest without encountering anyone else, and there were an odd number of people who passed the entrance test. They had ended up forming a three-man team as a result. But why did it feel like something was missing?

Weiss shook herself. What was wrong with her? Maybe she was just tired... that made sense. She stepped into the bathroom, and started to undress for the shower when something else caught her eye: her eye. Stared at her reflection, and her unblemished eyes. Reaching a hand to her left eye, she traced a line down across it. She felt like there should be something there, but there was nothing, not a single mark on her pale skin.

"Am I going mad?" she muttered to herself.

She shook herself, and had her shower, swiftly drying off and dressing before stepping out and looking over at Aetha. "Hey, you ready?"

Aetha nodded, and the pair left, saying their goodbyes to Yang, who waved at them as they stepped out. None of the three noticed a shadow moving outside, nor a pair of silver eyes glancing in.

* * *

Weiss and Aetha had seated themselves at a table outside a small café near the airship dock. A clock nearby read twenty past eleven. The pair had arrived in good time for the meeting. Weiss was a little agitated, as was Aetha. Weiss had met Aetha's brother only once before, before the girls had started dating. Now the pair faced the challenge of convincing the older hunter that Weiss was a good match for his darling little sister.

"You okay?" Aetha asked, looking over at Weiss, worry evident in her eyes.

"I'm holding together. Your brother usually has a good temperament, right?"

"Usually... yes..." Aetha bit her lip, making the implication of her words clear.

Silence took over once more, as the pair drank the coffees they had ordered, and waited. As the clock reached 11.30, a loud clacking of boots sounded on the pavement, as two figures approached the café.

Weiss looked up at the sound, and recognised Aetha's older brother Aelius and his fiancée, a young woman by the name of Galina. Aetha had told Weiss that the pair were on the same team at Beacon, and various things had happened between them since. Galina smiled brightly, while Aelius had a stern look on his face as he stepped up and greeted the girls.

"Aetha, good to see you, and you too Miss Schnee." The couple took seats opposite the two girls. "How's it going?"

Aetha smiled, "Not bad."

"School going well?"

"Yeah, we just finished our mid-terms, so it's all good," Aetha replied.

The newcomers ordered tea, and Galina made some polite chatter with Aetha and Weiss. Aetha replied energetically, while Weiss said little, stealing glances at Aelius. His brown eyes, so similar to Aetha's were locked in their stern gaze. This was almost as terrifying as the time Weiss had introduced her girlfriend to her father...

That did not happen... her father and Aetha had never met. Her father did not even know Aetha existed... but Weiss was sure that she had sat in a restaurant in Vale, and told her father about her girlfriend, but...

A flash of red in the distance caught her eye. A figure in a red cloak walked across the street, hood covering her face. The figure glanced in the direction of Weiss and the others, and Weiss saw silver eyes, glimmering with tears.

"Ruby..." Weiss muttered, then blinked, surprised. How had she forgotten, the girl who she loved more than anything else. She started up, surprising Aetha and Galina. Aelius seemed unaffected, calmly looking up at Weiss. She glared back at him, "What did you do?"

"This is the world we will make," he said quietly. "No fight with the White Fang, no unnecessary deaths, everything is repaired."

"But Ruby is..."

Aelius sighed, "Something I did not calculate. Yang Xiao Long's wish to see her mother... to talk to her before she left... her mother did not leave." He shrugged, a look of defeat crossing his face. "So Ruby's parents never got together... Summer Rose lives, but her daughter was never born."

Weiss just stared at him. A world where Ruby was never born. Sure, if they reset things they could bring Ruby along, the old Ruby, but it would be into a world where she had never existed, where her own mother would not know her.

Aelius continued, ignoring Weiss's dark look. "When I showed you both this, I tried to inject you into the versions of you from this world. She just appeared near the thing that was most strongly connected to her..."

Weiss had heard enough, she rushed away, running down the street towards the point where she had lost sight of Ruby. She made a turn down a side-street and saw the tail of a red cloak.

"Ruby!" Weiss ran towards the girl, who turned at the sound of her name, only for Weiss to throw herself at the girl.

"Weiss? You remembered?"

"It took me a little while... sorry."

"It's fine, you came back to me in the end." Ruby hugged her girlfriend, a smile creeping across her face. "Now we just need to get out of here. We have to stop them, right?"

"Yeah... I won't let him make a world without you," Weiss raised her eyes to meet Ruby's. Suddenly, she felt a hint of pain over her left eye.

"Your scar..." Ruby started at what she saw.

Weiss put her hand to her face, feeling the roughness of the skin where the blemish which marked her skin had been for so long. It was strangely comforting that it was back.

"So... what now?" a voice asked from behind them. The girls turned to look at Aelius, who had followed them there. "What will you two do?" His eyes had turned golden again, and they carried weary look to them, which they had not had since they entered this alternate reality.

"We're going to get out of here!" Weiss glared at the man, reaching for Myrtenaster. It should not have been at her side, but she felt the weight, and her hand closed on the hilt. This world was losing its substance, maybe they could shatter the illusion.

Aelius sighed, "I had hoped I could keep you here a little bit longer, but I suppose this act is over." Weiss rushed at him, but he made no move to defend himself, her blade cutting across his chest. Blood flowed from the wound, but there was something mixed in, shining golden specks in the blood.

"Isn't that..." Weiss stared at the blood. The golden specks were...

"Dust... through my whole body, all for her sake, I used that vein of dust so much my body changed." Aelius smirked, as around them the world shattered, vanishing to reveal the cavern, and the vein of dust behind Aelius.

Ruby and Weiss were stood by each others' sides, Aelius a little way away, uninjured. The other AEGX members were nowhere to be seen, and Yang and Blake were on the ground a little way off.

"Where are your friends now then?" Weiss asked haughtily.

"They're making a few last minute adjustments to accommodate you four... though I suppose it makes the fight we're about to have a little more fair." Aelius smirked.

"It's two vs one, I wouldn't call that fair," Ruby commented.

"Two schoolgirls against one of the most powerful dust users in the world, who is standing next to the largest vein of time dust on the planet," Aelius drew his sword, and his eyes glowed, along with every blood vessel in his body. "So yeah, just a little more fair."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so yeah, this is slightly early, because I decided that since I'm more than a chapter ahead and next chapter ends the current arc, I would post this one today and the next chapter at some point over the next few days. Again, this chapter and the next one are a little on the short side, but it's just to do with where the chapter breaks naturally fall. But yes, I'll be seeing you all again shortly...

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Aelius threw his left hand forwards, and a wave of energy burst from the dust vein. In his hand, Aelius held a fire crystal, and as the golden wave flowed over him, it turned a bright red, and flames rushed from his hand, washing over the cavern floor. Weiss leaped up onto a glyph, and Ruby sped away from the flames, both moving swiftly to avoid being engulfed by the flames. Aelius put a foot forward, and stamped the ground, this time hurling a green crystal into the air as a rush of energy flowed into it, and a mighty wind threw Ruby and Weiss to the ground.

Ruby rolled over as the wind pushed her, turning to land on her feet, then rushing at Aelius the moment the wind died down, slashing with her scythe as she approached. Aelius stared at her, then the moment she came close, vanished, appearing behind Ruby. Ruby, expecting the trick, spun around, swinging her scythe along with her body, putting as much momentum as she could into the attack., and letting her feet leave the ground. Even if her froze her perception of time, he could not stop her motion now.

Glowing golden, Aelius ducked under the blade with incredible speed, before striking out with his sword. His blade cut only air as Ruby bent her body back, going under the sword. Aelius smirked, until a glimmer of light caught his eye, and a light blue crystal flew in front of him.

_Ice..._ fro-zen.. _d*a_th _blo*_d

Pink

Memories flashed before Aelius's eyes, and out of some deep-seated reflex, he grasped at a red crystal in his pocket.

A ball of flame surrounded Aelius, protecting him from the crystal Weiss had thrown, the ice not matching up to the fire. Weiss was surprised: he had plenty of time to dodge it, he massively overreacted. As the flames died down, she saw his face, pale and fearful, with something else mixed in: deadly intent.

Weiss had not really thought about it, but each member of AEGX had lacked something normal of those she had fought in earnest before: a killing intent. AEGX carefully placed their attacks to disable, not to kill. They had steely resolve, and would no doubt kill if they had to, but they did not want to.

Now, something had changed in Aelius, as though a switch were flipped in the back of his mind. His eyes had darkened, his poise shifted. She could feel it, the intent to take them down no matter what. Had the ice dust had that effect on him? She felt for another crystal, but realised that she had only two left, one ice, one time. Her rapier was out of dust as well. She had to end this fast, or else Aelius would be able to simply overpower them.

Ruby appeared by her side in a trail of white petals. "You got any ideas?"

"One, how long do you think you can hold him for?"

Ruby bit her lip, "How long do you need?"

"A minute or two." She felt the time crystal in her pocket. "Make that one, tops."

"I reckon I can buy you that much." Ruby smiled at Weiss, "But your plan had better work."

Ruby took aim and opened fire at Aelius, as Weiss rushed off, triggering the golden crystal as she ran over towards the unconscious Blake and Yang. Aelius dodged the bullets, and unleashed a rain of lightning strikes at Ruby. His attacks were now less refined, more wild, less restrained. He was unleashing his full power now, and it took everything Ruby had to dodge the waves of electricity that he barraged her with. Each time she jumped aside, she would take a shot at Aelius, but he barely let up on his onslaught, easily dodging Ruby's attacks and simply firing off another barrage of dust-fuelled attacks.

Taking out a yellow crystal as his purple one crumbled away, he slammed it into the ground, and the rock beneath him rippled, then a wave of stone rose up and rushed at Ruby. She used her speed to run up and over it, firing down at Aelius as the tsunami of earth crashed against the cave wall. He leaped aside as Ruby's shots embedded themselves in the ground where he had been standing, then took out a white crystal.

The blazing light disorientated Ruby, as she squinted at the source. She tried to aim, but her bullets went wide. Unable to see, she landed awkwardly, and stumbled a little way. The light shifted, and she felt a rush of air, then a sharp pain in her side, as Aelius plunged his sword into her.

Ruby shook, her hands relinquishing their hold on her scythe. She stared at the metal piercing her, then up at the man holding the blade. The sword was nearly up to the hilt, piercing cleanly through her side. She was thankful that it had pierced her so low down that it had missed anything immediately vital, but the pain was almost overwhelming... almost.

As Aelius move to withdraw the blade, Ruby grasp onto it, her hands locking around the cross-guard.

"What the Hell?" Aelius's surprise was natural and obvious.

"What good is freezing my time if I'm holding on to your sword? Sure, you can blow a bunch more dust on me, but really, that's not a problem for me right now," Ruby grimaced, trying to smirk but failing through the pain. "After all... Weiss is almost done..."

Aelius stared at her for a moment, then looked over to where Blake and Yang were still lying on the ground. Weiss was nowhere near them. Realising that she had bluffed by running towards them, he turned his head in the other direction: towards the dust vein.

It all pieced together in his head. Weiss had run away from the vein, then doubled back when Aelius was distracted with Ruby. She had probably made use of the earth wave Aelius had summoned, running behind it to avoid being seen. When he used the light crystal, he blocked out his own peripheral vision, allowing her to get to the vein without him noticing.

Now she stood there, a glowing, light-blue crystal in her hand. As he stared, she put the crystal to the vein.

Time stood still for Aelius. It was only the second time for him. He made other peoples' time halt, but he was seldom on the receiving end. As the time dust reacted with the ice crystal, he seemed unable to move, each moment lasting an eternity. Flashes of his past appeared before him, these memories as clear and vivid as the day the day they occurred.

A little way away from him, an ice crystal had gone off. It was a White Fang member who used it. That one little crystal had changed everything for him forever. Before his eyes, the ice had formed a block, engulfing her, swallowing her. Her blood had mixed in with the ice, making it look as pink as her hair.

Aelius closed his eyes for the briefest of moments, a single tear running down his cheek.

"Aetha..."

Silence.

Then all Hell broke loose.

The golden vein of dust turned blue, the colour rippling through the entire vein. It glowed brightly, and ice began to form along the walls of the cavern, as the air chilled.

Ruby had fallen unconscious, and released her grip on the sword. Aelius pulled the blade out, then slammed a pink crystal to the girl's side. As it glowed, the wound on Ruby's body healed seamlessly. He sheathed his sword, then ran over to pick up Yang and Blake, slinging them over his shoulders. "Schnee! If you want to live, grab her and run!" Without saying more, Aelius fled the cavern.

Weiss stepped back a little, to the edge of the glyph she was stood on, looking up at the dust vein. She had managed to transform the entire vein, just by using one little crystal, but it had completely destabilised it. She hurried over to Ruby, folded up Crescent Rose and slung it on her back, then heaved Ruby into her arms. Running was out of the question for the slight girl, so she used her glyphs to speed out of the cavern, as ice crept up behind her.

She sped through the caves, only stopping to order her troops to retreat when she reached them. The AEGX troops followed suit as their commanders ordered them to flee.

Only when Weiss reached the exit did she halt, turning back to look at the cave mouth, as the last few troops escaped moments before the stone began to give way, as the ice damaged the structure of the cave. The entire thing collapsed before Weiss's eyes.

She set Ruby down, making sure that the girl's cloak was entirely protecting her from the snow, then looked to where the AEGX troops were running over the crest of the hill, carrying their injured with them. The four commanders stood nearer her, looking over the Schnee troops.

Aelius stepped up to her, depositing Blake and Yang. "A present for you."

She looked up at him. He looked sad, that was the only way to describe it, and she could not blame him. He had spent years on this plan, and it had all gone up in smoke, or down in ice she supposed was a more suitable way of putting it. He held out a hand to her, and she stared at it.

"I failed to introduce myself properly, Miss Schnee. I am Colonel Aelius Krios, leader of AEGX."

She took the hand hesitantly, and shook. He smiled a little, then, once they had broken off the handshake, he turned and started walking back to his team.

"Is that it?" Weiss asked, bemused.

"That depends, what do you mean by 'it?'" Aelius looked back and smirked, his golden eyes full of sorrow, but also a strange type of joy. "You know Miss Schnee, I think we have a lot in common. We're bot incredibly confident in ourselves, to the point of arrogance, we both strive to be our best for the sake of others, and we would both do anything for those we love. So trust me, this is not 'it.' I am sure we will meet again one day, and maybe not as enemies that time. So, until then, Weiss Schnee, fare thee well. Say goodbye to Miss Rose for me." He walked away, and joined his team-mates.

"Where to?" Xin asked as they walked to where they had hidden their aircraft.

"I have one stop to make in Vale, then we head to Atlas, assuming you're all coming along for the ride," Aelius replied.

"We still need to have our talk, so I'm in," Galina said.

"I was heading to Atlas myself, so count me in," Xin said.

Eleanor giggled, "Well I can't very well say no now, can I?"

Aelius smirked, then laughed, "Very well, it seems we're impossible to separate. Off we go then!"

* * *

When Ruby awoke, she heard the sound of engines in the background, and felt a bed beneath her. Opening her eyes, her gaze landed on Weiss, sitting by Ruby's bed in the cramped room, reading something on her scroll.

"Weiss?"

Weiss started slightly when Ruby spoke, and immediately put down her scroll. "Ruby? Are you all right?"

"Yes... yeah... I'm completely fine..." Ruby's surprise was clear in her words. "Almost as if somebody hadn't run me through with a sword... weird."

Weiss threw herself at Ruby, her arms encircling the girl. "You dolt... you promised you wouldn't get hurt."

"I... sorry... I kinda suck at this I guess." Ruby gave a sheepish smile, which was soon wiped from her face when Weiss pressed her lips to Ruby's.

"You dolt..." Weiss muttered quietly, before kissing Ruby again.

"Weiss..."

Weiss smiled but pulled away after the second kiss. "You should get some rest, the doctor's had a look at you and said you were fine, but your aura's pretty low. We'll be arriving back in Vale in about half an hour, you should rest until then."

Ruby sighed, but leaned back in the bed, as Weiss returned to her seat. "What about Blake and Yang?"

Weiss opened her mouth to speak, but paused, and bit her lip. Finally, she replied "They both woke up a little while ago. I spoke to Yang... she's annoyed that we beat her, but accepted it. She said that we won, so we got to make our choice, or something like that. Blake..." Weiss looked away from Ruby.

"She's taking it badly?"

Weiss nodded. "I do get it... I mean we're talking about correcting a lot of mistakes here... and she lost a lot more than we did in many ways. But..."

"We did the right thing," Ruby cut Weiss off. "Imagine if life had a reset switch. Nothing we did would matter, we could just undo it. And just imagine if we had reset everything. Only we would get to correct our lives, everyone else would have to live with their mistakes just the same."

Weiss chuckled mirthlessly. "I know... just try telling Blake that."

* * *

The aircraft landed in the Schnee HQ, and the troops began to unload, carrying the injured to a medical ward set up in the main building. Weiss had left Ruby to coordinate things, leaving Ruby to her own devices. She first had gone to check on Yang, who was jovial in spite of everything. There was no bad blood there.

Now Ruby found herself in front of Blake's room, hesitating with her hand raised to knock. As she stood there and tried to bring together the courage to knock, a voice called out "Just come in already." They were Blake's words, dry and sad.

Ruby entered the small room, and looked down at where Blake had curled up on the bed. "Hey Blake..."

"Hey."

Neither spoke, silence reigning. Ruby tried to find the words she wanted to say, but failed to bring them to her lips. Eventually, it was Blake who broke the silence. "I though I could do it at last..."

"Eh?"

"I thought I could fix all my mistakes. But it wouldn't have done that, I wouldn't have fixed anything, I'd have undone it all. I'd just be running away again. So don't worry Ruby, I know I made another mistake. Add it to the list."

Ruby frowned, "To be honest, I don't know if what we did was right. A part of me still wishes we'd changed everything, that I could have saved Mum... but whether it was right or wrong, we made the choice, now Weiss and I are going to stick to it."

When Blake did not reply, Ruby turned to leave, adding, "Just remember, we'll need plenty of help, so if you're willing, we could use a hand."

"I'll bare that in mind," Blake replied as Ruby stepped out of the room.

* * *

"Yes, it has been completely taken care of. The investigation team appeared in Vale a little after we returned. They said they were just... released." Weiss looked at the screen, where her father looked back, his face full of surprise.

"_Anything else unusual?_"

"Well..." Weiss glanced at a paper that sat on the desk to her side. On the front page it detailed a grave robbery. Her eyes had been drawn to the name of the 'victim' the moment she saw it. "Not really."

"_Well... as long as they're all safe, then I suppose there's not much more to do. Still, I'll be coming to Vale this Friday to check up on some things. I was planning to come down anyway, this just adds another reason._"

"I see..." Weiss waited for what would naturally come next.

"_Winter has been bothering me to come too. She really wants to see you again. Do you think you could manage some time with her?_"

"Of course."

"_Also... there's something Clement and I would like to talk to you about, and to Miss Rose as well._"

Weiss concealed her surprise, and replied cordially, "Very well, when would you like to see us?"

"_Shall we say dinner on Friday? Is that convenient?_"

"Yes... yes our classes end at four o'clock, so we should easily be able to manage that. I will confirm with Ruby and let you know."

"_Very good, I shall see you then. I must go now, I have meeting to attend._"

"Goodbye," Weiss slightly bowed her head politely, as the call cut. Drawing in a deep breath, she took out her scroll, ready to call Ruby. It was a little strange that her father and Mr. Clement both wanted to talk to her _and_ Ruby. But it was hers not to question why. She tapped the screen of her scroll, and spoke into it, "Hello Ruby..."

* * *

Aboard a North-bound aircraft, Aelius was lain back on a bed in his cabin. He had his left hand covering his left eye, and winced slightly. A knock on the door drew his attention, and he sat up, taking his hand away but keeping his eye closed. "Come in!"

Galina stepped in, smiling until she noticed his closed eye. "Does it still hurt?"

"No... just... aches."

"Let me see."

Galina knelt in front of him, and he opened his eye. She stared at the brown eye, dotted with fragments of gold. His other eye was still the bright golden it had been before.

"There are still little bits of dust in there..." Galina said, "but... I don't think there's anything we can do about it, just wait until your body become accustomed to it. Can you see fine?"

"Yeah..." he nodded. "But it just aches to open my eye."

"All I can recommend is more rest," Galina said, standing.

"Yeah... this irritation will die down soon, and besides, it was definitely worth it." Another knock on the door sounded, and Aelius spoke up, "Come in."

The door opened, to admit a young girl, with long pink hair and deep brown eyes. She looked to be in her early teens, and had tied up her hair with two faux-flower hair-bands. "Hey brother."

Aelius smiled at the girl. Yes, it had definitely been worth it. "Hey there Aetha."

* * *

A/N: So there you have it. One completed story arc. Now we can go back to fluff for bit before the next big thing happens... which is sort-of next chapter when WEiss and Ruby talk to Mr. Schnee again... but after that we can have lots of character stuff! Until the tournament that it... ah!

Oh yeah, so I finally title-dropped last chapter. I can finally discuss the actual reasons for the title, which some people have said they don't like. The reasons I chose it are: 1. the obvious reference to Red like Roses, and the comparison between Ruby losing her mother, and Aelius losing his sister, 2. a posy is a bunch of flowers, and each of the girls in team RWBY is associated with flowers in some way (Rose, Myrtenaster, etc, look it up if you want more details), while 3. 'pink' indicates the main pairing of the story. So yeah, it is actually a little more than just a terrible joke.

While on the topic of major overarching things, the final scene of this chapter produces a little bit of a plot-hole to do with Aelius's actions not making sense. Don't worry those of you who noticed it, it will be clarified in-story later. If you makes a couple of relatively minor assumptions then it clears up the problem anyway, but yeah, if you're troubled by it, don'y worry, it will be explained.

Other stuff: yeah so there has been a lot of action lately, which on the one hand is fine. I am, I think, pretty good at writing action scenes, but too many and they do become a chore to do, so I'm glad that there won't be too many for a fair few chapters. Basically it get to the point where you worry everything becoming repetitive, and you're running out of ways to say 'person A dodged the attack from person B.'

So, just one more thing to say here about the story: I think we are about half-way through, probably a little over. I'm aiming for about 120K words, or about 30 chapters, to put this on roughly the same length as a standard novel. This is as much so I can say to myself 'look, you can comfortably write a novel's worth in a few months, go do it again with your own original work. Compared to how fast I could be writing them, it's not _that_ impressive, but it would be nice to know I could turn out a couple of novels a year while still working.

On an unrelated note, I've written an RWBY RPG system! Well,it's mostly finished: I've done character generation, and know how the rules will work, so it's now just a case of writing the in-depth rules up. I'll probably put a link for it on my profile once I'm done, so yeah, if people are hyped on that, you'll be able to use it!

Anyways, for now, that's all, so I'll see you all next week.

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Peace and quiet were a welcome pair of visitors to the girls of Team RWBY in the days following their fight with AEGX. Having yet more work to catch up on, they spent much of the last three school-days busily catching up on what they had missed.

Ruby had been quite happy to accept the invitation to dinner on Friday, and Weiss was keeping the thought of that, yet another challenge to overcome, at the fore-front of her mind. The other thing keeping her thoughts occupied was that grave robbery she had read about in the newspaper.

Aetha Krios's body had been taken.

Weiss had read the article in some detail. There was no good reason to go after that grave: it was near the centre of the cemetery. If somebody just wanted a body, they would go for one near the edge. But instead, the criminal had gone for that specific grave. The crime had occurred on the evening of the Tuesday that the girls had conducted their mission.

It did not take a genius to work out who had dug it up.

Weiss had not reported that AEGX was behind the events to her father, seeing little point in it. They were not 'evil' by Weiss's standards, and could not attempt their plan again, unless they found another huge vein of dust, which was less than unlikely. AEGX had dropped off the people they had taken prisoner, who seemed to have had their memories altered, then vanished, seemingly disappearing off the face of the planet, along with Aetha's body.

That told Weiss one thing: they did not have a back-up vein. If they did, they would not have taken the body. Maybe they had some other purpose now, which needed the body. If so, Weiss could only guess at it.

Then there was the other big thing on her mind: the tournament. It was only a week away. It would be going on through the penultimate week of the term, one round each day from Monday to Friday. Weiss and Ruby had been training a little over the week, given that Ruby was now fully back in shape, as she had demonstrated on the mission, but they still needed more time to really refine themselves before the tournament.

But priorities had to be put in order, and Friday evening found Weiss distractedly waiting for Ruby to finish getting ready. She felt like she had been in that same situation far too many times.

"Calm down Weiss," Yang said from her bed, where she was scribbling answers to a piece of homework. An uncommon sight, which Weiss knew had only occurred because Blake blackmailed Yang into doing her work by threatening not to have any 'special relaxation time.'

"You are asking me to be calm when I know that my father wants to talk to me and Ruby about something, and at the rate we're going, we will be late." Weiss bit her lip, then remembered that she had already applied her lipstick, and quickly stopped herself before she ruined it.

"I'm just saying..." Yang shrugged.

Weiss glared at her, then looked over at Blake. "Blake, we'll be back around nine I would guess, so I'm leaving it to you to make sure that everything is... tidy by then."

Blake chuckled, "Okay, okay, but if you're going to be back before then make sure you call first, unless you want to see our 'mess.'"

Weiss rolled her eyes, but was too distracted to reply, as Ruby chose that moment to exit the bathroom. Weiss gave her a quick look-over, decided that she was fine, and hurried the pair of them out the door.

After about twenty seconds, Yang slipped down and sat on Blake's bed. "So, Blakey, watcha reading?"

Blake sighed, and put the book aside. "Let's cut the small-talk, and make the most of the few hours we've been given."

"I'm down with that," Yang leaned in and the pair brought their lips together.

The door opened suddenly, and Weiss looked over the pair, a grim look on her face. "Seriously, I forget my wallet, have to come back, and after only, what, thirty seconds you're already all over each other?"

"Yes," Yang said with a smirk. "Now don't you have an airship to catch?"

Weiss, still grimacing, grabbed her wallet and hurried away.

"Maybe next time we should do the whole 'small-talk' thing for a few minutes first," Yang mused.

"That may be a good idea... or maybe Weiss will learn to knock."

"Maybe. But next time it could be Ruby..." Yang paled. "It's bad enough that Weiss is going to get some of her, I don't want Rubes seeing us together like that..."

"Weren't you the one who almost serenaded her on Monday with tales of our night together?" Blake asked.

"Eh, I knew Weiss would stop me somehow." Yang chuckled. "Anyway, should we get on? I can only keep my hands off you for so long."

* * *

Ruby had decided it was best not to ask when Weiss rejoined her with a sour look on her face. She could guess what might have caused Weiss's unhappiness, and did not particularly want the messy details.

They were now sat on the airship, Weiss having managed to move on from the unfortunate sight she had witnessed. She was now on the subject of Ruby's work.

"You need to catch up, you're still half a week behind."

Ruby pouted, "Sorry... but a lot happened, so y'know..."

"Yes, I do know. I know you keep taking your 'short cookie breaks,' which turn into half-hour feasts, followed by you failing to concentrate due to the sugar rush. I'm not going to be able to watch over you this weekend, since I've promised to spend some time with Winter, so you'd better make sure you do your work, or else no snuggling for a week!"

Ruby's face turned pale, "Weiss... isn't that a bit harsh?"

"Isn't that my job?"

Ruby was not sure what the correct answer was there, so simply frowned and looked at her feet. Weiss sighed when she saw the sad look on Ruby's face.

"While I'm with Winter I suppose I could get you a present, for when you've finished your work."

Ruby suddenly beamed, and gave Weiss an excited hug. "Aw~ Weiss~y."

Weiss was not impressed, "If you're going to do that in public, you aren't getting anything."

Ruby quickly retreated, but she still wore a smirk. "So I can do it in private?"

"Maybe, that depends on how quickly you get your work done." Weiss smirked, "Okay?"

"Fine," Ruby pouted. "Why do you have to be such a stick-in-the-mud Weiss?"

"Because if neither of us were, can you imagine the state we'd end up in?"

Ruby wanted to argue, but the logic was flawless. Instead she just allowed silence to fall in place of the conversation, until the airship landed.

The pair made their way to the hotel they were to meet Weiss's father and sister at. It was another fairly classy one, making Ruby feel strange when she walked in. It reminded her of the difference in the worlds that she and Weiss had each grown up in. Yet as they walked in and Weiss asked a waiter to direct them, the older girl flashed Ruby a slight smile of encouragement, allaying Ruby's worries, and reminding her that those worlds had beautifully overlapped.

The pair were shown into a private room, where Eisen, Winter and Mr Clement greeted them, with various degrees of enthusiasm. Winter was bordering on hyper, Mr Clement jovial and Mr Schnee calmly welcomed his oldest daughter and her girlfriend, with a clean, calm smile. The pair took their places. Food was ordered and small talk began, starting with the topic of school-work, which made Weiss give a side-glance at Ruby, a small smirk sitting on the heiress's face.

Ruby merely muttered that she was "a little behind due to everything going on lately, but Weiss was helping with the catch-up."

Weiss, satisfied with the truthful answer, changed the topic to Winter's current schooling, which Ruby silently thanked her for.

Winter beamed when she was asked, "School's fine at the moment, though a lot of the girls are very stuffy. Oh, but there's a new girl who transferred in yesterday, she was really nice, and some of the others aren't too hung up on appearances."

"Winter, you shouldn't talk about them like that, it's rude," Eisen said disapprovingly.

"Eisen, remember when we were boys, you used to bad-mouth the other children all the time." Mr Clement smiled at his friend, who shot the briefest of glares back.

"Thank you Hubert."

Winter smiled at her uncle, who chuckled as Eisen coughed and moved the conversation along swiftly. "So, Miss Rose, I hear that there is to a tournament at Beacon soon..."

"Oh yes, the entire first year is required to compete." Ruby replied. "The top team gets first choice of rooms for second year, and the top pair gets a special prize... though we don't know what that will be yet. We also get a bonus on our grade for the year dependant on how we place. It's only up to an extra 5%, but it's still a nice extra if you can place first."

"Oh? Well then Weiss, I'll be expecting 105% as your end-of-year mark," Eisen said, a humorous smile crossing his face.

"Father!"

"I'm joking, I only expect you to come top in the year."

Ruby looked between father and daughter, and was not sure if Mr Schnee's last comment was a joke or not. "Um... well I kinda expect Weiss to do that as well, y'know, she's easily the smartest in the year."

Eisen smiled, "Quite, I'd be very surprised if anyone managed to beat her."

Weiss turned her gaze to her knees, trying, and failing, to conceal a blush. Ruby smiled at her, but when Weiss noticed, it just made her redden more.

"Are you two dating?"

Winter's question caught everyone else in the room completely off-guard. Eisen turned to look incredulously at his youngest daughter. Mr Clement's eyebrows raised so far they hid beneath his short fringe. Weiss started upright, and stared at her sister. Ruby started babbling "What are you talking abou...," before Weiss clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Where did that come from Winter?" Weiss's voice had taken on a steely edge, and her gaze turned cold.

"Well, first, you blush more around Miss Ruby than anyone else, second, you act like you're married, and third, I may, possibly, maybe, have overheard Father telling Mother about it."

Weiss turned her steely gaze from her sister to her father, who looked thoroughly surprised. "I thought I told you to go and get ready for dinner while I talked to your mother that time."

"And that stopped her from being curious _how_?" Weiss asked, irritation crossing her face. She exhaled loudly, then looked back at Winter. "Yes, it's true, we're dating."

"So you're a thespian?" Winter asked, a curious look coming over her face.

"The word is 'lesbian,' and yes," Weiss replied, sighing. "How did you even get those words mixed up?"

"I was trying to develop my 'cute little sister who makes silly mistakes' character some more," Winter smiled.

Weiss sighed once more as Ruby nodded sagely. "You've definitely got the 'cute little sister part down.'"

"Thank you Miss Ruby." Winter looked thoughtful for a moment, before saying "So... that means you're going to be my sister one day then Miss Ruby?"

"Uh... that's the plan!" Ruby tried to sound excited, but the subject still felt a little awkward after the last time it had been discussed. She glanced around at the other two Schnees. Weiss was staring at Winter with as much shock as if her sister had just stepped on a land-mine, which was not so very far from the truth. Mr Schnee had a calmer look, and a small smirk on his lips.

The smirk worried Ruby a little. She and Weiss had been called here to 'talk,' and she could guess what the topic would be.

"Well, now that Winter has oh-so-elegantly brought it up, I suppose now would be a good time for our little conversation," Eisen said, making both Ruby and Weiss quiver slightly.

Ruby silently prepared for the worst. 'If he were going to have me killed, he wouldn't have let me order food, right? But what if he told them to poison it? Oh no... I'm done for...'

"Eisen and I have discussed a way to get you two married without concealing the whole affair." Mr Clement's words broke clean through Ruby's manic mental babbling. She stared at him, as though he were a saviour, come down to Remnant to deliver her from the terrors of Mr Schnee.

"Simply put, we need to make Miss Rose seem like an 'attractive acquisition' for the company," Eisen explained.

"And my dear Weiss, do you happen to know of any CEO's who have no heirs and vast personal wealth? Any who might be willing to, I don't know, adopt Miss Rose as their heir and consequently make her a very wealthy young heiress?" Mr Clement smiled at Weiss and Ruby, as the cogs whirred in Weiss's head.

"You aren't saying...?"

"I am saying," Mr Clement cut Weiss off. "What use is my wealth after I die? Besides, I could always just wait until after you were married, then cut her off if you really don't like the idea."

Ruby looked between the others at the table, completely confused. "Er... what do you..."

"So you're going to make Miss Ruby into a suitable match for Sis by making her heiress to a lot of business ventures and a large amount of money? Clever, it's a nice way of getting everyone to accept the match," Winter commented, nodding with a knowing smile.

Ruby was still lost, and now felt bad about it because the girl who was a year her junior had followed the conversation perfectly. "Erm... sorry... I don't get it, what are you saying?"

Mr Clement turned to Ruby and gave her a warm smile, "I am offering to adopt you as my heir. I'm not as wealthy as Eisen over there, but I daresay that nobody would question the suitability of your union then."

Ruby stared at him. She did not know much about business, but she understood what this all meant. The offer was insane. He would adopt her, and leave her his everything, just so that she and Weiss could get married without trouble.

"Would you really do that for me?" Ruby stared at the man.

"I have no children of my own, my nearest family is my 3rd cousin, who I've met once. I was thinking of splitting my estate between Weiss and Winter anyway." Mr Clement chuckled, "This will just be a slightly less direct method."

"But we'd be taking away from Winter then..." Ruby looked at the younger girl.

Winter just shrugged. "I'm getting to be second-in-charge of the Schnee corporation anyway. Trust me, I'm not going to need it."

Ruby glanced between the two adults, still a little shocked by the offer. Finally, she turned her eys to Weiss, who was looking thoughtful.

"Uncle, are you sure about this?" Weiss asked.

"Yes."

Weiss nodded, then turned to Ruby. "I see no reason to turn him down." She smiled briefly, then glanced at Mr Clement, "Though I suspect that you will ask a little of Ruby in return."

Mr Clement chuckled, "Well, she will have to learn to act the part. But she'd have to do that when you two married anyway, so it's better that she starts early, no?"

Ruby raised a brow, "Act the part?"

"Learn to act like a lady should," Weiss said with a hint of mirth in her voice. "You know, how to be everything you aren't."

Ruby pouted, "I'm not that unladylike..."

"You walk around most days in a bright red cloak, you use a monster of a weapon in combat, can barely walk in heels..." Weiss smiled. "Need I go on?"

"I..." Ruby turned red and looked at her feet.

"Don't worry, I think you have a teacher to hand anyway," Mr Clement said with a smile.

"Eh?" Ruby looked at him surprised.

"He's talking about me," Weiss said, sighing. "Though I don't know where to even begin."

"Don't make it sound like I'm a lost cause!"

Weiss laughed at that. "Okay, okay, but yes, to return to the point: I think that there's nothing to be lost by accepting Ruby."

Ruby bit her lip, "I just... it feels kinda... weird."

Weiss looked over her girlfriend for a moment, before turning to her father. "Excuse us a moment." She stood, and placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Come with me, we should talk about this."

Ruby allowed herself to be led out of the room, and into a garden area at the back of the hotel. Weiss took the pair to a space where nobody else was about, then turned to Ruby. "What's troubling you about this? Tell me in detail."

"It's just... me, heiress to something that big? If I mess up or something, it would reflect badly on Mr Clement. It would be bad enough that it reflected poorly on you, and..." Ruby frowned, looking at her feet.

Weiss chuckled, "That's so very you to worry about that. Look, we know that if you try, you can act properly. _I_ know you can." Weiss took Ruby's hands in her own. "Okay? Be a little more confident. Where's the hyper, excited girl I spend my time getting annoyed at when she needs to be here?"

"I just... it's a big responsibility."

Weiss sighed, then looked Ruby straight in the eye. "There's another option."

"What do you mean?"

"To speed everything up, so we don't have to keep hiding everything. Did you know that in Mistral, the legal age for marriage is 16?"

"Eh?" Ruby stared at Weiss in surprise, guessing at where the heiress was going with the conversation.

"My mother's mother was from Mistral, so I have few rights in the kingdom, including the right to get married there. What do you say? We wait until you're 16, then high-tail it to Mistral, and get married there. Does that sound like a good plan?"

Ruby thought for a moment, and shook her head. "No... I don't want to have to do that. I want to get married here, with our families around us, and I don't want to rush it."

Weiss smiled, "I thought you'd say that, no, I knew you would."

Ruby looked up at Weiss, seeing what Weiss was saying underneath her words. "If I don't accept this, we'd have to wed in secrecy, officially at least. Your family couldn't be there..."

Weiss frowned, "Yes... and you'd be only accepted begrudgingly, officially at least. I don't want that."

Weiss was not pleading. Ruby could see that. She was not begging, she was not asking. She was stating a simple fact, and letting Ruby decide from there.

"I'll do it."

Weiss smiled at Ruby's answer. "Thank you."

Ruby smiled, "I can't expect you not to have your family there, and just mine would make the whole thing a bit crazy."

Weiss giggled. "Yes, if they're anything like you and Yang, then I could see that being an issue." She then suddenly drew Ruby close, and whispered in her ear. "And while we're on the subject, I get to propose, got it?"

Ruby turned crimson at the comment. She just nodded, wondering why Weiss made the request. Weiss drew back and smirked, before turning back towards the hotel. "Come on, our appetisers will likely be waiting for us."

Ruby nodded, and followed Weiss back into the hotel, and to the room where the other three were waiting. They all looked up as the girls entered, and Weiss turned to Ruby, looking at her expectantly.

Ruby bowed head head a little, then spoke up. "Mr Clement... sir... I would like to accept your kind offer." She tried her best to sound polite, barely avoiding tripping over her words.

She did not expect the laughter she received as a response. Looking up, she saw Mr Clement chuckling loudly, while the three Schnees were trying to conceal smirks.

"Miss Ruby, you don't need to be so formal, it makes you look silly," Winter said, trying to suppress her giggles.

"Now Winter, that's not very polite," her father chided, unable to hide his own amusement from trickling into his voice.

Weiss tugged slightly on Ruby's shoulder, indicating their seats. The pair sat down and the other three in the room calmed themselves.

"We'll discuss the details another time. For now, let us just enjoy our meal," Mr Clement said, as a knock on the door sounded, signalling the arrival of the first course.

The conversation turned to less serious topics, with Weiss asking after her mother to begin with, followed by the usual conversations for a family who saw each other only occasionally. Ruby felt somewhat more comfortable than she had at the previous meal, and did her best to join in the conversation, only once or twice getting glared at by Weiss for something she had said.

The food was excellent once again. The thought occurred to Ruby that being with Weiss promised many more fine meals in the future. Of course, that was nothing to do with why she was dating the heiress, but it was a considerable bonus.

* * *

The meal ended with Weiss promising, again, to spend time with Winter over the weekend, and Mr Clement saying he would contact Ruby once he had sorted out the legal stuff on his end.

Weiss looked at her scroll as the pair left the hotel. It was about quarter to eight, somewhat earlier than she had anticipated. Going home now might cause the pair to run into Yang and Blake before they had finished 'cleaning up.' Ruby noticed the look of concern on Weiss's face, and smiled at her.

"You wanna go grab a coffee somewhere?"

Weiss nodded, and the pair made their way to a café near the airport. Ordering their drinks, they took a window-seat and sat sipping their drinks. Ruby stared out of the window, a look of deep thought crossing her face.

"Are you still worrying about your decision tonight?" Weiss asked tersely.

"Not exactly, I'm just a bit worried about living up to the decision."

Weiss sighed, "You'll be fine. Besides, if anybody complains, I'll make sure they never set foot within a mile of you ever again."

The look on Weiss's face was so serious that Ruby could not help but laugh. "Don't do that. I don't want to be responsible for the bad publicity. Can you imagine the papers? 'Heiress gets restraining order placed on business associate for being rude about her girlfriend.'"

"Possibly worded a little better by them, but I take your point," Weiss said with a smirk. "Just do your best, and we won't have any problems of that sort, right?"

Ruby smiled and nodded, "'Kay. I'll try my very best. So teach me well, Professor Schnee."

Weiss glared when Ruby gave her the title. "Ruby, if you dare call me that ever again, I will file for divorce."

"We're not married yet!" Ruby exclaimed in shock.

"I'll marry you, then file the papers the day after, just to be extra cruel," Weiss smirked at the look of fear in Ruby's eyes.

"Okay, okay, I won't do it," Ruby looked like a kicked puppy, making Weiss wonder if she overdid it. However, the hint of a smile on Ruby's lips, which the redhead was desperately trying to conceal, convinced Weiss otherwise.

"Come on, do you really think I'd actually do that? I mean, I'd have to give you half of everything I own, that would really set me back a lot." Sarcasm oozed from Weiss's voice as she spoke.

Ruby giggled, "Yeah, right, that would be your biggest worry. Definitely."

"So glad you understand." Weiss elegantly took a sip of her coffee, hiding her amusement behind her cup.

* * *

When Weiss and Ruby returned to their dormitory at a quarter past nine, they cautiously knocked on the door. Hearing no response, the pair nervously glanced at each other, before Weiss unlocked the door and the both peered in. Both felt incredible relief to see that there were no clothes strewn on the floor, and that while their team-mates were curled up in bed together, they were fully clothed in their night-wear.

Ruby and Weiss looked at each other. Neither of them felt like going to bed, but equally if they did anything much in the room, it would disturb the others' peaceful slumber.

"You want to go to the roof and start our lessons?" Weiss asked.

Ruby shrugged, "Sure, nothing better to do."

Dropping off anything unnecessary, the pair headed up to the roof. As the door closed behind them, a pair of lilac eyes cracked open, a cheeky grin joining them. Yang lifted herself a little, and quietly said "They've gone."

"I can't believe I agreed to do that," Blake replied as she opened her own eyes and shifted in the bed.

"Whatever, you ready for round two?"

"Isn't it technically round 5 by now?"

Yang shrugged, "Details, details, now are you ready?"

Blake gave her partner a mischievous grin, "Well yes, of course."

* * *

A/N: So, yeah, this is early again. The reason: I'm moving my schedule forward a few days. Basically, my Saturdays are a touch insane (four hours of rpg'ing in the morning, then a gap, then four hours of GM'ing a game), and... yeah, it's just easier for me to choose another day for my uploads to land on. So now, rather than updating on Friday/Saturday, I'll be updating on Wednesday/Thursday each week. It also makes more sense because of the way I usually end up writing, and when I actually do the writing. There are one or two other reasons, but yeah, updates should now be on Wednesdays, or Thursdays if I fall behind (Fridays if there's a major problem, like my internet goes down again).

But yes, things happening. Characters doing things. Things happening that are done by characters. All of that! But yes, this chapter was interesting to write, for various reasons, not least because it didn't have any action scenes in (at last).

So another thing, several people started making confused remarks about the sort-of plot-hole in the last chapter. As I said, it will be explained, though the answer is kind-of there anyway. There is also the other important reason it makes sense: Aelius is not purely selfish in his motivations. But yes, characters will discuss this further in later chapters, so I won't talk too much about it here.

As one last thing, I would just like to throw out a 'thank you' to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and followed this story, and everyone else too for that matter. As I may have mentioned before, I wrote on this site on a different account a while back, and compared to any of those stories (allowing for fandom sizes), this is way more successful by any measure (hits, views, favs, anything) so yeah, nice to know you guys appreciate me. Not that I'm writing this for those things, but I'm not gonna lie: it's a good feeling to be appreciated. So yeah, onwards and sideways, see you next week.

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Good evening. I am Ruby Rose, it's a pleasure." Ruby made a slight bow, and extended a hand to thin air. She was stood on the roof, practising her formal modes of address.

Weiss looked on from the side, and nodded approvingly. "Good, now when someone asks you your connection to me, your answer is..."

"Ah, I am Weiss's partner at Beacon Academy, and her betrothed." Ruby gave a polite smile. She gave Weiss a sideways glance to see her reaction. When Weiss smiled, Ruby relaxed the slightly stiff stance she had taken. "Was that all right?"

Weiss nodded, "And if you forget someone's name, or don't know it, how do you address them?"

"'Sir' or 'young Sir' for a man or boy, 'Madam' of 'Miss' for a woman or girl."

Weiss nodded, "Basically, but if you know the woman is married, it's always Madam, if you know she isn't, it's 'Miss' unless she is considerably older than you. Play it by ear if you aren't sure." Weiss took out her scroll, and seeing that it past seven o'clock, decided they should end the lesson there. "We should head down for dinner now."

Ruby nodded, stretching to loosen herself up. Weiss had made her stand in strange ways, and been very particular about them. 'Perfect posture' Weiss had called it. 'Painful posture' Ruby named it in her head.

It was the day after the dinner with Mr Schnee. Ruby had spent the day trying to get through as much of her homework as possible, until Weiss came home from her day with Winter. Then the pair had begun their lesson.

The two wandered from the roof, heading down towards the dining hall. "So how was Winter?" Ruby asked as they reached the stairs.

"She was her usual self. Though she would not shut up about how 'Miss Rose' was going to be her older sister soon. It's not even going to be soon, it's two years off at least!"

Ruby giggled, "Well it's nice that she's fine with it."

"Of course she is. She's incredibly happy that I'm dating a girl who's about as hyperactive as she is."

Ruby looked offended, "Weiss, I am far more hyper than Winter. How dare you suggest otherwise?"

Weiss glared, her eyes saying 'Don't start.' Ruby decided to cut her some slack. Both of them had had long, tiring days, though for completely different reasons. An unnecessary argument was the last thing either of them needed.

When the pair reached the dining hall, it had mostly emptied. They got their food, and took an empty table. Normally they would have check with their team-mates and all have eaten together, but since the mission things had been far from normal.

It was not that their interactions were unpleasant, nor that they deliberately avoided one another. But whenever Weiss and Blake were together now, a heaviness hung in the air whenever they would normally have been talking. When it came to something important, they would get over it and go on as normal, but they had not been going out of their way to stick together as they had before. Ruby and Yang, not wanting to make matters worse, just let things be.

"So, Ruby, how much of your work did you get done."

"Er... a bit more than half. I've still got that dust essay to do though..." Ruby frowned. She just did not get how dust worked. She genuinely tried to understand, but it made no sense to her.

Weiss sighed. It an irritating fact that some people just understood dust better than others. Her family was made up of excellent dust-users, who used the stuff from infancy, and, as a family line, had naturally high affinity. Ruby seemed to lack this quality, and Weiss found it hard to explain. It was like trying to teach someone how to breath, she knew what she was doing, but could never find the words to explain it.

"You should stop leaving the assignments you find most difficult to last."

Ruby pouted, "I know, but I was kinda hoping a little that you could help me with it this evening because I find it really hard, and you're like, the nicest girlfriend ever who would never leave me high-and-dry. Please Weiss!"

Weiss cursed the day Ruby had learned to make puppy-dog eyes. She gave a disdainful look in the direction of the table, unable to target it directly at her girlfriend. "I suppose I could spare a little time to give you some assistance."

"Weiss! You're the most awesome person ever, you know that?"

Weiss stuck her nose in the air, a haughty look crossing her face, "Well of course I am."

Ruby giggled, "And you're all mine... so I must be the luckiest person in the world."

Weiss's dignified look faltered as she blushed a deep crimson. "Ruby..."

"Yes?" Ruby tilted her head, a curious look in her eyes. Weiss was nearly overcome by how cute she looked.

"Never you mind you dolt!"

* * *

Blade and gauntlets clashed, as flames flew past Blake's face. She ducked back, putting space between herself and Yang, allowing her some breathing room. Yang smirked from across the training arena at the faunus.

"So, is this going to become a regular thing every time one of us gets pissed off at Weiss? Because we may want to buy our own arena in that case."

Blake growled at the blonde's comment. Yang chuckled half-heartedly. "Okay, okay, the kitty don't want to talk about scary ice-girl, I get it. After all, it's warmer by the fire!" Yang hurled herself at Blake, her gauntlets firing as she jumped.

Blake dodged and swung her blade at Yang, who blocked it with a gauntlet, before swinging round with her other fist, aiming for Blake's stomach. Blake knocked the fist aside with her sheath, spinning around and swiping at Yang with her blades.

Yang blocked the sword and sheath, then fired at point blank. "Just sayin' we could have our own arena corners, and like, weapon storage." She rolled backwards, using the force of her shots to speed up her roll. "Heck, we could even get a big ol' picture of Weiss and wrap it round a punching bag."

"Can it!" Blake leaped into the air, carving her blade through the air towards Yang. Yang opened fire, but Blake dodged the shots, landing in front of Yang and kicking her legs out. In an instant, Blake was on top of Yang, sword touching her throat. Before she could celebrate, Blake felt warm metal against her side, and her eyes trailed down to where Yang's right gauntlet was pressed to her chest, the barrels of the gauntlet still smoking lightly.

"Stalemate?" Yang asked with a smile.

"Nope," Blake replied, as the girl on top of Yang faded away, as another blade pressed itself to Yang's throat. Looking up at the blade and its owner, Yang sighed as she saw Blake stood over her.

"A clone trick, again? You seem to be able to keep them there for a lot longer than before."

"I've been practising." Blake smirked, "You give?"

"Sure, sure, whatever." Yang chuckled as Blake removed the blade from her neck. "Seriously though, those things are irritating. Why do all these duels have to be to what the judges think would be 'unwinnable.' I get my best results after I should have lost."

Yang pulled herself up, and smiled brightly in spite of the grime covering her face. "So anyway, what do think about that personal arena?"

Blake glared, "Drop it."

"Oh come on, you need to get over this Blakey. You and Weiss can't be passive-aggressive towards each other for the rest of time."

"Says you," Blake sighed, sheathing her sword.

"Hey, I'm very active in my aggression when it comes along."

Blake chuckled, which relieved Yang a little. Blake's attitude had been less than splendid for the last few days. Since the mission, she had seemed down at random points, even when Weiss was not around. While Blake was smart enough not to let it affect anything important, Yang was still worried about her. It was a relief to see her smiling, even if it was at an awful joke.

"Look, Yang, I know you're worried about me. But you know that Weiss and I have had much worse problems with each other before, and we've got over it. Heck, we're going to have far far worse arguments in the future most likely." Blake smiled a little, "We'll get over it, it's just going to take a little time."

Yang nodded, accepting the statement as more progress towards a solution than she had expected. Not that her failing to predict Blake was much of a surprise by now. Blake was smart, as was Weiss, the two would make up once their respective prides allowed it.

* * *

Weiss was sitting by Ruby's side, watching as the girl wrote her essay, occasionally making a comment on something Ruby had written. They had been at it for an hour now, the first half of which had been Weiss explaining the parts Ruby failed to grasp, the latter had been Ruby writing everything up. Weiss was now merely inputting when she felt she had to.

She glanced up at the clock. It read a little before nine. She frowned for the briefest moment, noting that Blake and Yang had not come back yet. She shook herself slightly. It was not her job to worry after the pair.

She looked back at where Ruby was still writing quickly, trying to finish before Weiss told her they needed to go to bed. Weiss was very strict about that, possibly because the heiress had trouble getting up in the mornings: she needed her beauty sleep. Ruby realised that her thoughts of a sleeping Weiss had distracted her, and the subject of her thoughts was glaring at her.

'If she knew why...' Ruby shuddered under the glare, and returned to her work.

She worked in relative silence for another half hour, before she had finished the essay to her own satisfaction. Glancing at Weiss, she looked for an indication of satisfaction from her. Weiss sighed, "That should do."

Ruby smiled, and started putting her work and stationary away while Weiss stretched next to her. There was still no sign of the other girls.

"So Ruby, what would you like as a present?"

"Eh?" Ruby looked surprised at Weiss's question.

"I promised you a present when you finished you work, remember. What sort of thing would you like?" Ruby opened her mouth with a bright look in her eyes, before Weiss quickly added "Not cookies, or anything edible for that matter."

Ruby's face fell as her words caught in her throat. "Oh... er..."

Weiss sighed, "I can't believe I had to clarify that."

Ruby pouted in response. "I like cookies, is that a crime?"

"No, but when your girlfriend is asking you what you'd like as a special gift, and it's your only answer, then that _is_ a crime."

"Really?" Ruby looked bemused. "That's a kinda specific law. Or does it also cover any edible sweet gifts?"

Weiss put a hand to her face, slowly rubbing her temples. 'I love her, I love her, I am not going to strangle her, I will resist the temptation... but maybe she's into that... dammit now's not the time!' "No Ruby, it is not actually a law, but it is a rule of dating etiquette. Now do you actually have any sensible ideas, or am I just going to have to wander round aimlessly tomorrow in search of something suitable?"

"Er... well..."

Weiss sighed once more. "I'll just go a-wandering tomorrow."

Ruby looked at her feet, "Sorry... I'm not being very helpful I know..."

Weiss took one look at the sorrowful face Ruby was making, and immediately stepped over and hugged the girl. "Don't be sorry. I doubt I'd know what I wanted if you were getting me something. Now I just know that you aren't expecting anything particular, so I could get just about anything and it would make you happy. Of course, I'm still going to make sure it's something extra-special just for you, okay?"

Ruby nodded, wrapping her arms around Weiss to return the hug. "Thanks Weiss."

"Now, you've done a lot of work today, so as a 'good start' present, here you go." Weiss pressed her lips to Ruby's forehead as the girl looked at Weiss in surprise. A red tint flushed over Ruby's cheeks as she felt the warmth touch her briefly, before Weiss drew back. "So, we have some free time, what do you think we should do with it?"

"Is snuggling an option?" Ruby asked meekly.

Weiss smiled at the adorable girl. "It certainly can be."

* * *

Weiss's eyes looked swiftly over a display in a store window. Yet another shop, yet another disappointment. It was almost as if most shops did not cater to wealthy heiresses seeking presents for their hyperactive and quirky girlfriends.

Winter was trailing behind her sister, staring at various items which caught her attention. She was far from bored with the window shopping opportunity, but her sister's irritated sighs were getting on her nerves.

"Come on Sis, surely some of the things we've passed would be fine?"

Weiss looked over at Winter, "Have you ever been in love with anyone?"

"Nope," was the instant response.

"First: good, otherwise I would have whoever it was hunted down. Second: in that case, when you do fall for someone, you'll understand why this is a tough decision."

Winter glared back at her sister, "You know you don't have to be that over-protective of me."

"It is part of my job," Weiss replied with a smirk. "Any guy you like will have to pass a series of tests before I even consider letting you date him."

"Why do you think it would be a guy?" Winter asked with a devilish smirk.

"Well... you know... probability and all that," Weiss stammered slightly as she spoke, remembering a previous conversation with Yang. 'No, if she ever went after my sister, Blake and I would both murder Yang.'

Winter just kept her smirk on her face as they kept walking past shop windows, unaware of the horrible thoughts going through Weiss's head.

'But we'd have to separate them before we could murder Yang... I'd have to take Winter off for some 'sister time' while Blake caught up with Yang and ended her... that could work, but I wouldn't get to join in... maybe persuade Ruby to play with Winter for a while... but then she'd be an accessory to murder...'

Winter by now had noticed that Weiss was distracted with her thoughts, and halted, staring at her sister. "Sis, you aren't planning the demise of anyone I bring home, are you?"

"N-no!" Weiss replied. It was technically true: she wasn't planning the demise of just 'anyone' that Winter brought home. "Besides, you're too young for that!"

"You're dating a girl who's only a year older than me."

"Y-yes, but..." Weiss was desperate. She could really empathise with Yang at this point, a strange feeling for the heiress.

"If and when I start dating someone, you're going to be nice to them Sis, or else..." Winter's face turned dark. "Or else I will never forgive you."

'Dammit, she knows that I can't argue with that...' Weiss lowered her gaze. There were very few people who knew which buttons to press for her, but her sister was one of them. Weiss was just glad Winter had behaved around Ruby. It could have been very awkward if Winter had decided to 'have fun' with Weiss in front of Ruby.

"Fine, fine, I'll make sure that if it ever comes to it, I'll be nice." When Winter beamed, Weiss hastily added, "As long as they are nice, and you know, polite, and suitable."

Winter shrugged, not expecting to get anything better out of her sister. "Well I would never date someone rude. They'd have to be kind, and polite, and..." Winter went on at length with ideal traits for a future mate, while Weiss returned to looking in windows, half-listening to her sister just in case Winter dropped any useful hints about her love-life or preferences.

They continued on for a little while, Winter continuing on about ideal mates, while Weiss gradually tuned out everything her sister was saying, having realised that Winter was being far too careful with her words, even in such a long spiel, to give Weiss any useful information to prepare herself with. Weiss glanced in at yet another clothing store, swiftly dismissing it. Clothing was not something she could really get for Ruby, their tastes were too different for one thing, and even if Weiss got her something under the pretence hat Ruby needed something formal, it would only get placed in a wardrobe for the foreseeable future. She needed something special that could serve its purpose more swiftly. In the next window, her eyes caught on something, and a small smile came to her lips, as her paces halted.

"...and you know, they'd have to be someone who wouldn't be scared off by you or Dad, so that is a bit of a limiting factor, but you know, if they had the guts to ask me out in the first place... eh? Why've you stopped?" Winter's eyes followed her sister's gaze, landing on the item which had caught Weiss's eye. "Aha, I see."

* * *

A few hours later, Weiss stood with her father and sister at the airport, as her family prepared to board their airship back to Atlas.

"Well, we had better be off," Eisen smiled at his daughter. "Give us a call every now and then Weiss, even if you only catch your mother, she has been dying to hear from you."

"I will," Weiss nodded. Her words sounded a little half-hearted, but she managed a smile.

"Are you going to be coming home for the holidays?" Winter asked, looking hopeful.

"Er... I..." Truth-be-told, Weiss had not planned to. Last holidays, her reason had been to stay away from the father she had such a poor relationship with, now her reason was to stay close to someone else.

Her father noticed her nervousness, and spoke up "You should come back for a bit at least Weiss. Miss Rose would also be welcome, your Mother would quite like to meet her."

Weiss thought for a moment, then nodded, "I'll talk to Ruby about it, and let you know."

Eisen nodded, "Well, we really do need to get going, come on Winter." The pair picked up their bags. "Goodbye for now Weiss."

"You'd better come home, see you then!" Winter gave a slight wave as she turned to leave.

"Bye..." Weiss quietly said as the pair hurried towards the waiting airship. Her eyes looked to the ground, then she glanced at the small bag she was clutching in her right hand. A soft smile fixed itself on her lips as she headed back into the airport, to await the next flight back to Beacon.

"WEISS!" a squeal of delight sounded the moment Weiss walked into the Team RWBY dormitory. A red ball of energy leaped at her, wrapping a pair of arms around her. Weiss looked down at her energetic, smiling girlfriend, and sighed.

"I take it that means you finished your homework?"

"Yup!" Ruby smiled and titled her head slightly. All Weiss could think of was how much it made her look like her pet Zwei. A cute little doggy...

Weiss resisted the all-too-common urge to pet Ruby. "Well if you let go of me for one second, I can give you your reward."

Ruby obediently release Weiss, and smiled expectantly. Weiss giggled a little to herself, before handing Ruby the bag containing her gift. Ruby took it and peaked inside. A black case greeted her, long and thing. Taking it out, she opened up the box, and looked at the contents.

"Weiss... you are really, really, REALLY amazing, you know that?"

"Yes, but you can keep telling me it as much as you want."

Ruby lifted a golden-chain necklace out of the box, her eyes fixed on the pendant: a ruby flower-design, with what appeared to be diamond studs set into it.

"As I recall, you don't have any of your own, so I thought I'd get you one." Weiss smirked, "Also, it's a nice way of reminding everyone whose you are."

"O~h getting possessive now are you?" Ruby teased, as she undid the clasp, and turned her back to Weiss, holding the ends of the chain for Weiss to take.

"I just like people to know that the pretty little thing is mine," Weiss chuckled as she fastened the necklace. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Nope," Ruby turned back around, smiling and letting Weiss view the pendant, lying on top of Ruby's blouse.

"Might look better with something with a lower neckline," Weiss mused.

"Oh, doesn't it look good on me?" Ruby asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"Of course it does you dolt, but I'm just thinking of ways to make you look even better," Weiss said, slightly too calmly for Ruby's liking, as if this were just a scholarly study Weiss was interested in: 'The Art of Making Ruby Rose Attractive,' or something like that. "But regardless, you look fine, great even, though I am kinda curious while your clothing is always quite so covering. I mean, compared to Yang..."

"Yeah... that's kinda why. Yang's always so showy, and you know, I'm not quite as..." Ruby waved her hands, about wildly, "...you know..."

"If you're saying you aren't as attractive as her, then shut up. You are way better than her in every department." Weiss nodded seriously as she spoke. "I mean, if I wanted to date a muscle-bound show-off, then maybe I'd think she was more attractive, but I don't so I can quite happily say that you are cuter, sexier, more beautiful..." Weiss realised what she was saying and turned bright red. "And... er... um... yeah..."

Ruby was looking at her feet, blushing as well. "Th-thanks... Weiss."

"Don't mention it," Weiss replied. She felt arms wrap around her again, as Ruby hugged her tightly.

"Really, thanks Weiss, you're the most awesome girlfriend ever."

Weiss smiled, and returned the hug, "No Ruby, that would be you."

* * *

A/N: So this was strangely much effort to write. The main reason was that not very much actually happens, and while I'm all for a good dose of fluff, fluff without structure is not easy to write. Eh, I got it done, and the things that did need putting in here are in, so the chapter does its job.

'Job...' urgh, a nasty word. I'm in the middle of making job applications for once I've finished university at the end of this year. Why can't somebody just pay me for writing random fluffy stories? Or for playing video games, I'd do that job. That said, combing the two, and writing for video games is something I would really like to do, but it's really hard to find people who'll hire you for that sort of thing. A pity, as creating settings is one of the things I'm really good at: I have, at various times, constructed two different D&D settings, one of which I use to this day as my standard fantasy RPG setting when running games, as well as several fairly detailed settings for stories. But yeah, sadly I've not found many people who'd take on a writer with no appropriate work experience to construct their entire fantasy setting.

But yeah, so between job applications and writing my project (on 'The Mathematical Growth of Groups' for anyone who has any idea what that means), I'm slightly busy, but am keeping on keeping on. Let's just hope I don't go completely insane before I finish this.

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

It was the weekend after Weiss's family visited that Mr Clement asked Ruby and Weiss to meet him at a lawyer's office in Vale, in order to sort out the legal issues around Ruby being named as heir. The pair were stood in front of 'Jaundice and Jaundice' Law Offices. For a legal firm, it was a fairly humble building, just off the main street.

"Well, this would appear to be the place," Weiss said, looking up at the building.

"It's a little... underwhelming."

"Uncle always preferred to take his personal legal issues to less well-known firms. It's less likely that paparazzi would notice, and sometimes discretion is needed for legal matters."

"I see... makes sense."

"Anyway, shall we?" Weiss indicated the door, and the pair entered.

Business seemed slow, at least by the state of the young woman behind the front desk. The receptionist seemed surprised when the door opened. She did a double-take when she saw Weiss. Doubtless, it was not every day that the heiress of the largest dust-firm on Remnant walked into a small, hidden-away law office.

"May I help you?" she asked as Ruby and Weiss approached. The receptionist had suddenly sat up straight and taken on a very polite attitude, with a calm smile and expectant look.

"Yes, we have an appointment with a Mr... Jaundice," Weiss looked down in surprise at the piece of paper. "Er... I'm afraid that it doesn't specify which Mr Jaundice on the memo I was sent..."

"Oh, there only is one," the receptionist replied. "The company name was just to sound more 'professional' I'm told ma'am. Er... yes, Mr Clement, Miss Schnee, and Miss Rose for one o'clock. Mr Jaundice is in the second floor office. You can't miss it, it's the only office on that floor. Mr Clement is already up there."

"Thank you," Weiss said, before she and Ruby headed for the stairs. Ruby swore she heard a sigh of relief from behind them when the pair turned away.

"I think you scared her," Ruby muttered as the pair ascended the stairs to the first floor.

"My name does that to people," Weiss replied, chuckling a little. "I'm surprised you hadn't noticed before now."

"Well, you know," Ruby shrugged as the pair reached the second flight of stairs, "I'm usually paying more attention to you than the people you're scaring."

Weiss smiled at the comment, "Good good. But does that mean you were paying more attention to that girl than me? Are you planning an affair?"

"What? No!" Ruby exclaimed, then saw the look of amusement on Weiss's face. "I wish you wouldn't tease me."

"It's in my contract."

"What contract?" Ruby fumed.

"The one I signed with Yang to let me date you without her killing me. One of the terms states that I can tease you as much as she makes fun of me."

Ruby gave Weiss a confused look: confused because Ruby could quite readily believe that such a contract existed, if only to make Yang feel better. "I'm gonna go ahead and guess that's... a joke?"

"Yes Ruby dear, yes it is."

The pair reached the single room on the second floor, with a metal placard reading 'Mr. Jaundice' on it. Weiss stepped up to door and knocked.

"Come in," a voice called from inside.

"Best behaviour, okay?" Weiss said quietly as she put her hand on the door knob. When Ruby nodded, Weiss opened the door and the pair stepped inside.

The office was fairly large, with four chairs in front of a desk, behind which sat a short man, with strangely rodent-like features for a human. The girls presumed, correctly, that this was Mr Jaundice. In one of the other four chairs, Mr Clement sat, a sheaf of papers in his hand, which he looked up from as the girl stepped inside.

"Weiss, Miss Rose, good to see you. I trust your journey was pleasant," Mr Clement said with a smile.

"Quite pleasant, thank you," Ruby replied with a slight bow of her head in greeting, and a polite smile. Weiss, who had been about to reply, halted her own words and smiled, happy that Ruby had remembered at least that much of their lessons on formality.

"Do take a seat, please ladies," Mr Jaundice indicated the chairs, and the pair each took a seat. "Now, we have completed most of the paperwork, we only have a few matters for today, aside from Mr Clement checking everything is to his satisfaction..." the lawyer looked over at the over gentleman, who was back to reading his papers.

"Oh... yes, do continue, I'll just be a few minutes reading these," Mr Clement said when he noticed that Mr Jaundice was looking at him.

"Very well, so, Miss Rose," he turned to Ruby. It took Ruby a moment to realise how he had identified her, neither she nor Weiss having been introduced. Then she remembered: not only were they colour-coded according to their names, but also Weiss was heiress to one of the largest enterprises in the world. Today was a day that kept giving Ruby perspective of how well-known her girlfriend was.

Mr Jaundice continued, "I believe we only have two real matters to attend to. First, I need to read you a few of the terms in Mr Clement's will concerning your inheritance, if I may..."

When Ruby nodded, he began reading part of the will, "I do leave all else I possess to Miss Ruby Rose, with the following provisions..."

A long list was given afterwards. Ruby lost track of what was being said after a few words. She recognised some of the words, but it was mostly in complicated terminology. There was something about a 'fellow knee' or something, and Mr Schnee's name was mentioned. Beyond that, Ruby understood none of what was said.

When Mr Jaundice finished reading, he looked at the girls, and saw Weiss nodding in understanding, and a blank look on Ruby's face. "In short, provided you aren't charged with a felony or with a misdemeanour with a prison sentence of more than a month, and you are married by the time you are set to inherit, you will receive everything. If you aren't married at the time, Mr Eisen Schnee is to look after the business aspects of your inheritance until you are wed. Okay?"

Ruby nodded, "Isn't the whole 'getting married' thing a little odd?"

"It's fairly standard for adoptive heirs," Weiss commented. "Seeing as a person would only adopt an heir if they have no suitable family, they want to ensure that there will be an heir after the adopted child."

"It is as Miss Schnee says," Mr Jaundice said. "Though as I understand it, you being unmarried is unlikely to be a problem." He coughed slightly, then moved some papers on his desk. "Now, the other matter is that of the name-change."

"What?" Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"Oh... yeah... nobody mentioned it did they?" Weiss said as she realised her mistake. "I assume we're going with the standard double-barrel?"

Mr Jaundice and Mr Clement nodded. Ruby looked confusedly between the other three. "What?"

"You'll need to append Mr Clement's surname to your own. It's standard, and would be... odd for you not to," Weiss explained.

"Eh... that's... okay, I just kinda liked my name the way it was..." Ruby frowned a little.

Weiss sighed, then leaned over to whisper in Ruby's ear. "It'll only be a couple of years before we both change out names a little anyway, right?"

Ruby blushed, and meekly nodded. "Okay..."

Mr Jaundice handed Ruby some paperwork, and she began filling it out. Under 'new surname' she was directed to write 'Clement-Rose.' She put her signature at the bottom, and handed the paper back. Mr Jaundice looked over it quickly, then nodded.

"I'll have it sent to the City Hall on Monday. You should be called about potential times for you to go in some time next week. You'll have to go with proof-of-identity, and you should just have to sign a few more forms, and that will be that."

A few words from Mr Clement to Mr Jaundice later, all of which went over Ruby's head, and the two girls and Mr Clement exited the office, their business completed.

"Well, that went fairly smoothly," Weiss commented, as the three of them reached the stairs, and started making their way down.

"Quite so, quite so," Mr Clement smiled. "Now, I understand from Eisen that the two of you will be going to Atlas during your holidays, correct?"

"Yes," Weiss replied. She had discussed the idea with Ruby earlier that week, and Ruby had been incredibly excited at the prospect of going. "We'll be leaving two weeks tomorrow, and spending the first two weeks of the holiday there."

"Aha, well I thought I should tell you two, Eisen and I were thinking of 'showing you off,' as it were, at an event while you are both there: officially announce that Ruby's my heir and that the pair of you are affianced and all that a few days beforehand, and then have the pair of you attend together. Does that sound all right by the pair of you?"

"I have no objections," Weiss said, looking at Ruby.

"Eh? I can't see any reason not to," Ruby replied hurriedly, surprised to be put on the spot. She had got to the point of going with the flow for everything, as knew what was the best course of action for the pair of them.

"Okay, well Eisen and I will have a talk about it, and let you know what we think would be the best time." The three reached the ground floor, and left the building. "Let me know once the name-change has gone through. I'll see you both soon."

"Goodbye," both girls replied as they made different turnings on to the main street.

Weiss glanced at Ruby, "You okay?"

"What? Yeah, I'm just a little... I don't know, confused maybe. It's all seems a bit strange to me, all the legal talk, and the high-society stuff," Ruby shrugged. "It's just a world I'm not used to."

"More happy to see a room full of grimm than a room of elegant ladies and polite gentlemen are you?" Weiss teased.

"At least I can carve up the room full of grimm." Ruby looked thoughtful, for a moment. "Weiss..."

"No, you can't chop up all the people at whatever the event is." Weiss tutted, "Can you think of the bad publicity?"

Ruby giggled, "I know, I know." The pair continued chatting as they wandered down the main street, intending to go for lunch before returning to Beacon.

* * *

"No!"

"Come on Blake, plea~se."

"'No' means 'no.'" Blake glared at the whining blonde. Yang had desperately wanted to go and train some more for the upcoming tournament. Blake, on the other hand, wanted to spend the time they had without Ruby and Weiss catching up on her reading. She had only finished one novel that week, a serious travesty in her eyes.

"But I have nothing else to do. It's not like we have any work in for next week."

"We do for the week after."

"You expect me to do work a week early?" Yang looked confusedly at Blake. "Who do you take me for?"

"I don't expect you to, it was merely a suggestion."

Yang sighed, "Man, we get some alone-time, and you want to spend it reading?"

"You want to spend it beating each other up. Don't try to play the 'not romantic' card on me."

"But at least we'd be doing something together."

"It's said a relationship is best when you can be alone together," Blake replied. "So why don't you curl up with me and an improving book?"

"'Improving' eh? What could I possibly improve about myself?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Your attitude maybe?"

"Come on, can't we just a have a little tussle?"

Blake sighed again. She wondered vaguely it she would develop hyperventilation problems later in life because of Yang. "Just... let me read for an hour, then we can go and beat each other senseless, okay?"

Yang smirked, "Knew you couldn't resist me Kitty."

"Call me that again and I'll beat you senseless here, then read atop your unconscious body."

"Maybe I'm in to that."

Blake glared, "Get some new jokes, seriously, and some new fetishes while you're at it."

Yang chuckled, "Don't you like me the way I am?"

"I didn't say I didn't, but you could use some improvements..." Blake made a thoughtful face, trying to hide the smug grin that was trying to force its way onto her face.

"You wound me madam," Yang took a dramatic pose, which was utterly ruined by her trying not to laugh.

"I'll be doing that later, now can I please get on with my book. The sooner I've had an hour reading time, the sooner we can go and train, okay?"

Yang nodded, and Blake finally returned to her book. Yang climbed up onto her bed and lay staring at the ceiling, trying to think of something to do with her hour. Her eyes drifted over to the other pair of beds, and her thoughts drifted to their occupants.

Ruby had excitedly told her about the whole plan so that she and Weiss no longer had to hide their relationship. On the one hand Yang was happy for her sister, but on the other it felt like Ruby really was drifting away from her now. Yang had made her peace with Weiss, and accepted that Ruby would one day leave Yang to spend her life with the heiress, but now they would be moving apart even faster. The world would see Ruby as the daughter of a different man from Yang. Even if they still shared the same blood, the world would see them in separate lights now.

Then there was the other worry: Ruby would be surrounded by the upper echelons of society, while Yang was dating a faunus. It was a horrible thought that Yang's love for Blake would be judged, and consequently Yang would be seen as a lower class than her sister. It scared Yang more than anything that she would be forced to choose between her lover and her sister. It scared her most because Yang knew which choice she would make.

If you had asked her half a year ago, Yang would have happily told you that she loved her sister more than anyone else in the world. Now there was an exception to that. A single person Yang loved more than her sister, a young lady quietly reading her book beneath Yang.

Blake or Ruby: there was no choice to make. Yang could not live without Blake now. She could just about make-do without Ruby, she had long accepted that they would one day be separated, but Blake was too important to the blonde to ever face separation.

Yang was sufficiently caught-up in her thoughts that when Blake looked up over the side of Yang's bed, the blonde did not even notice her until she spoke. "Yang?"

"Eh? Er... yeah?"

"You've been silent for half an hour, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, why would...?" Yang saw the unimpressed look in Blake's eyes, and shook her head in defeat. "You know we far too well."

"What's up?"

Yang stared up at the ceiling again before asking, "Blake, am I a bad sister?"

"Nope," Blake replied immediately. "Clingy, noisy, nosy and embarrassing? Yes. Bad? No."

Yang chuckled, "Hey, those are my best qualities."

Blake smirked briefly, before her face turned more serious once again. "So what brought this on?"

"Thinking..."

"About Ruby and Weiss?"

"What else?"

Blake shrugged, "You might have been thinking about me."

"Would I moody if I were thinking about you?"

"I hope not," Blake replied with a smile.

"But yeah... it's about this whole adoption thing..."

"Ruby's not actually being adopted."

"But that's how the world will see it," Yang replied.

"Since when did Yang Xiao Long care what the world thought?"

Yang looked at Blake with surprise, "Eh?"

"You're dating a faunus, you're massively outgoing and self-confident, why should you, of all people, give a damn what anyone else thinks? Care what you think, and care what your friends think, but everyone else can go hang: isn't that how you operate?"

Yang was not sure whether to be happy her girlfriend knew her so well, or upset at the less-than-flattering description she had just been given.

"You know," Blake continued, "it's kinda weird seeing you so thoughtful. What are you really afraid of?"

Yang smiled sadly. Blake could almost read her mind it seemed. "I'm afraid that if Ruby marries Weiss one day, I'll have to choose between her and you."

Blake frowned. "I... see..."

"I don't want to have to give up either of you, but..." Yang sighed, "I know what my choice would be." As Blake looked down, fearing the next words from Yang's mouth. "I'm a terrible sister, but I'd have to choose you."

Blake looked up in surprise at the comment. "Really?"

"Well... yeah," Yang blushed. "I mean... that is..."

Yang's mumbling was cut-off with a kiss. Blake's lips stopped the words falling out of Yang's mouth, catching the blonde off-guard. When Blake drew back, she gave Yang a serious, stern look. "Yang, I swear I will make it so you never have to choose, okay?"

Yang stared at Blake. A smile crept across her face. Yang remembered why she had fallen for the earnest, kind and smart girl before her. Blake was the person who Yang could trust with anything. She had already trusted her heart to the faunus's keeping, she could trust Blake with her everything if need be.

"Thank you Blake." Yang swooped down for another kiss. When they broke off, the blonde smiled, "I love you."

Blake said nothing, but her smile said all the words she needed to. Dropping down from the bedside, Blake finally spoke, "Come on, we've got to go beat each other up right?"

Yang beamed, "Right on it!"

* * *

It was as Ruby and Weiss were heading back to the airport after their lunch that Ruby said _it_. The pair were wandering back, with Ruby baring a massive grin, humming merrily as the pair walked.

"You seem pretty happy," Weiss commented.

"Well yeah, everything's great at the moment, we're gonna have that tournament starting the day-after-tomorrow, then we only have one more week before the holidays start, and we can start being public, and we'll be going on the trip to Atlas, and of course my birthday's in the middle of it all..."

Weiss was smiling until Ruby's last few words, when a look of horror crossed her face. Ruby missed the look, which Weiss was glad of.

'It's her birthday soon... oh shit I forgot.'

"...and it's the first day of the holidays too! Best birthday present ever!"

'I have two weeks to prepare, I can do it...' Weiss controlled herself, and forced a smile, "That is rather fortunate."

The conversation continued, while Weiss ran through a mental list of everything she could possibly get Ruby as a gift. A thought struck her, and she made a note of it. 'While I'm getting a present, I should also get _that..._'

The pair continued on their way, Weiss still thinking of present ideas as Ruby continued rattling on.

* * *

A/N: So yeah, this chapter's a bit short. Mainly because I needed these scenes right here and didn't want to go into the tournament scenes until next chapter. So yeah... not much else to say really. Thanks to those of you who gave me comments of support qua job-hunting and everything. I might even have an interview if I'm lucky (that is: the people haven't told me I haven't got one yet... fun...).

But yes, hope you enjoyed what there was of the chapter. See you all next week!

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Ruby was excited. There was simply no other way to put it. Today was the day she had been looking forward to since the last day she had been looking forward to: the first day of the Beacon First Years' Tournament. She and the other first years stood in the centre of the arena, with the seating above them filled with teachers and other students from the higher years.

Chatter filled the room, but silenced when Ozpin stood up to a microphone. "My dear students. Today, and for the rest of this week, we will be showcasing the talent of our first year students. Before we begin, I will just remind you all of the prizes for the most successful among. For each round you get through after the first, 1% will be added to your end of year mark, with our tournament winner receiving an extra 5%."

"In addition, the team with the highest overall placing will have first choice of second-year accommodation, followed by the second highest ranked, etcetera. Finally, there is a special prize for the highest ranked team: a certain friend of the school owns a hotel on the island of Mersa, and the winning team will get travel and rooms to the island for two nights of their choice in the upcoming holiday."

Excited mutters sounded through the first-year ranks, but silenced again when Ozpin cleared his throat. "Now, I will say no more of the rules, you are already familiar with them, except to explain our tournament structure.: for the first two rounds you will fight alongside your partner. Thereafter, you will fight solo. May you all do your best, and let the tournament begin!"

The assembled students and teachers clapped, before the first years exited the arena, and the first two pairs were called in for their bout.

In the wings, Team RWBY huddled.

"We had better get a high ranking guys, I here the top rooms are awesome!" Yang said the moment the girls had gathered.

"That would be your first priority, wouldn't it?" Weiss chuckled. "But I agree, it does sound considerably preferable to put in the effort to get a better room."

"So what's to stop a person knocking their team-mates out early?" Ruby asked. "I mean, if they end up against each other."

"It won't happen, not until the semi-finals," Blake replied. "They carefully structure the tournament lay-out, so you can't be against a team-mate until the semis, and you can't be against your partner until the final."

"Makes sense," Weiss commented. "So do you two know who you're against in the first round?"

Yang grinned, "Cardin and his partner... what was his name again? I am not going to feel bad at all about taking them out of the tournament early."

"It should be relatively straight-forward. Cardin's not exactly the fighter with the most finesse here," Blake replied. "You guys?"

"Er.. I can't remember the names... they're one of those pairs that just seems to blend into the background, like a silhouette..." Weiss half-mumbled.

"Ah, so nobody stand-out? You should have an easy time too then." Yang chuckled. "Well, the best of luck to you both, unless you make it to the semis, in which case I will be beating one of you into the floor." Yang looked over at Ruby, "Sis, try to drop out before the semis, please. I don't want to have to beat up my little sister... again..."

Ruby glared, "We won last time."

Yang smirked, "But this time your girlfriend won't be able to super-power herself and save you."

Blake nudged Yang, "We're up soon, we'd better go and get ready."

"I'm always ready Babe!" Yang replied with a chuckle. She turned to Ruby, "Well, she is right though, we do need to get going. Wish us luck!"

The pair headed off to ready themselves, leaving Weiss and Ruby by themselves. They were not up for a while yet, so Weiss asked "You want to sit down somewhere?"

"Sure," Ruby replied. The pair found a bench, and watched a screen displaying the current bout. It was between people they did not really know, so it was not long before Ruby got bored and turned to Weiss. "So that holiday prize sounds pretty cool don't you think?"

"I am slightly surprised they were able to organise something like that, but yes, it would be nice to have a free holiday."

"Would be? We're gonna win this and go on it, you mark my words!"

Weiss chuckled, and smiled at Ruby, "Well, we can do our best, but the competition is pretty stiff."

Ruby pouted, "But we can win, with the power of love! And the power of being better than everyone else!"

Weiss giggled at Ruby's ridiculous comments. "Sure, why not. We can make it to the top."

"Let's get to the finals together, then go on holiday together," Ruby blushed a little as she spoke, but smiled sheepishly and continued. "Just the two of us, we'll have the best holiday ever."

Weiss nodded. "That would certainly be enjoyable..." Weiss placed her hand on Ruby's and carefully interlocked their fingers. "Having you all to myself for two days... yes, very enjoyable."

Ruby had turned crimson by this point, but managed a sheepish smile. "I'm all yours all the time anyway."

"Good girl, you know where you belong," Weiss replied with a smirk. "Right here with me."

"So all we've gotta do is beat our way to the top right?"

Weiss nodded, "I think we can manage that little."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

The current bout ended, and Yang and Blake walked into the ring as the previous fighters left, or were carried out in one case. Ruby and Weiss both turned to watched the fight.

"We are going to have to beat those two though," Weiss pointed out. "That will be interesting..."

Ruby giggled, "You aren't scared of losing are you Weiss?"

"Not to them, but remember that somewhere along the line one of us at least is going to have to fight Pyrrha too."

"She might lose to someone else... okay who am I kidding?" Ruby made a sour face. "But Jaune will probably not do that well, so second and third places would probably be enough for the holiday prize."

Weiss shook her head, "We're aiming for first and second. I won't accept anything less, you got that?" Ruby pouted, and Weiss chuckled. "Besides, I've got something special for you if you meet me in the finals." An idea had taken root, one which Weiss thought was quite excellent if she did say so herself.

"Really?" Ruby brightened suddenly. "Then I'll do it! You'd better not lose to anyone else Weiss, you got that?"

"Of course not," Weiss nodded, "After all, the only one allowed to have me on the ground is you."

Ruby glared, "Yang is rubbing off on you far too much."

"She is not rubbing off on me! Do you really think I'd cheat on you?"

Ruby cringed, "Weiss, mental image: not good. Why are you recycling Yang's awful jokes anyway?"

Weiss shrugged, "Well you love your sister, so I thought..."

"Weiss, that's the one thing I hate about Yang," Ruby replied with a completely straight face. "Her jokes make me want to commit sororicide."

Weiss stared, "Where did you learn that word?" It did not seem to be typical of Ruby's vocabulary.

"My sister is Yang," Ruby replied. "I've looked into this."

Ruby's reply sound joking, but Weiss was still slightly worried by the response. "Y-you haven't actually, right?"

Ruby giggled, "Okay course not." When Weiss sighed with relief, Ruby continued, "After all, I'd end up in prison, that would be bad, especially now, you know."

Weiss smiled, trying to hide her worry, "Er... sure..."

* * *

The first round was pathetic, in Weiss's less-than-humble opinion. She and Ruby won swiftly, and the pair exited the arena with Ruby whining about how boring the fight was.

"...I'm just saying that they could have put us against someone a little better." Ruby sighed, "I mean, we don't even get a second fight today because we won."

Weiss sighed. Trust Ruby to think like that. The first round was to reduce the 24 pairs of first years to 16 pairs, allowing for a simple tournament structure thereafter. If you won your fight, you went into the second round. If you lost, you fought in more deciding matches to allow another 4 pairs through.

"You should be glad that we get extra rest before our fight tomorrow."

"But it's boring sitting around watching everyone else fight," Ruby whined as the pair were approached by their team-mates.

"Nicely done Rubes," Yang said as she approached. "Though I still reckon you should have taken them out in, like, thirty seconds tops."

"We did it in 47. As I recall, your fight lastest 58 seconds," Weiss retorted.

"I was going easy on them," Yang replied with a shrug. "Would have been a waste to end too quickly, I needed to give the crowd some sort of spectacle."

"Of course," Weiss rolled her eyes as she spoke. "So do you guys know who you're up against tomorrow yet?"

"Not yet, it'll be someone from the losers section most likely. Top 4 times in the first get to fight the 'easier' opponents. You guys just got the second best time, after Pyrrha and Jaune, then it's us. I'm expecting Ren and Nora to rank somewhere with us, but nobody else has come close so far," Blake replied.

Ruby pouted, "But I don't want more easy fights! Weiss, if I ask nicely do you think they'll put us against someone better?"

"Don't you even dare try," Weiss glared. "While I have no doubt of our skill, I'd rather this tournament was as straightforward as possible." Ruby looked like a hurt puppy, but Weiss had finally learned to ignore Ruby's puppy-eyes. It was difficult, and tore at Weiss's soul, but sometimes she need to be firm with the girl, for her own good.

That did not stop Weiss from petting her girlfriend's head, "Now now Ruby, don't look at me like that. We're going to need to conserve our energy so that we can get all the way to the end, right? Also, it'll be a waste of time to fight the small-fry, so we just need to get to the top for our fun, right?"

Ruby still frowned a little, but seemed more convinced. "Okay."

"Aiming for first are you?" Yang smirked, "Sorry, but I can't let you do that."

"Oh really, you're going to stop us?" Weiss replied, a haughty look in her eye. "We won't abide that."

Ruby whispered to Blake, "When she says 'we' do you think she's including me, or just talking really snobbishly?"

"Don't know, maybe both," Blake replied in a hushed voice, as Yang glared at Weiss, who smirked back.

"Well I can't wait to wipe that smug look off your face" Yang said, then chuckled. "Anyway, hows about we go for lunch?"

"Sure," Weiss smiled. Yang and Weiss both turned to their girlfriends, and the four headed off to the canteen.

* * *

Ruby parried a sword-blow with her scythe, spinning her weapon to force the sword away from her, then taking up a defensive stance back-to-back with Weiss.

Their second bout had started, and, compared to the previous day's fight, this was a much harder battle. Their opponents were a dual-sword wielder and a dust user with a quarterstaff. Weiss was busy trading spells with the other caster while Ruby fought off the swordsman.

"You okay there Weiss?" Ruby asked as she swung her scythe in the way of the second sword, knocking it aside before swinging back to parry the first sword again.

"Just about," Weiss replied as she raised a wall of ice to block a ball of flame. "Get me some space could you?"

"I'll have a go." Ruby went on the offensive, lashing out with her longer reach at her opponent, forcing him to block a heavy downward strike with both his sword, before she fired a dust-round right in the swordsman's face. He stumbled back, but quickly readied himself to defend as Ruby rushed at him again.

Weiss, now having the space she wanted, dodged rock launched at her from the mage, then she ran at her opponent. Her body glowed almost imperceivable golden.

It was not to nearly the same extent as Aelius, but she had absorbed a tiny amount of time-dust into her body when she had used the vein back during their mission. She had not even noticed until she accidentally trigger it during a practice spar with Ruby. It did not let her defy physics, just run that little bit fast, react that little bit sooner, strike a little more accurately.

With her heightened reactions, she comfortably dodged her target's projectiles, ducking aside as an icicle flew past her head, dodging a ball of fire, raising her rapier to strike. She span the canister of Myrtenaster to the light blue dust, ice gathering around the blade.

She lunged at her opponent, her sword sliding over the staff raised to parry. She struck home, her frosty blade stabbing into her target's aura, and the after-hit of the ice dust shattering the aura around it.

The tip of the blade grazed her opponent's skin, but the aura meter displayed for all to see on the large screen over the arena showed that the mage's aura was down. She was out.

Weiss turned to her partner, who was a whirling ball of red. The audience was captivated by the swift movements, almost impossible to make out by eye. Weiss, in her slightly sped-up state, could make out the movements. It impressed her that Ruby could think fast enough to keep those motions up without the aid of dust.

Ruby's scythe clashed into her opponent's swords again and again, as the swordsman narrowly managed to block each blow. But every strike came closer to breaking through his guard than the last, and eventually he gave.

A powerful blow knocked the sword out of his left hand, sending it spinning across the arena. Startled as he was when he lost his grip, it was an easy thing for Ruby to knock the other blade from his grasp. Lowering her blade at his neck, Ruby finally stopped, breathing deeply staring down her opponent.

A bell rang. The match was decided: Ruby and Weiss had won.

The pair left the arena, putting away their weapons as they walked, Ruby half-skipping by Weiss's side. "Weiss, that was awesome! Did you see me? Did you?"

"Yes, I did," Weiss smiled, glad that Ruby had managed to enjoy herself after the previous day's less-than interesting match. "That was not at all bad Ruby."

Ruby looked thoughtful for a moment, "So coming from you... that means I was amazing, right?"

Weiss sighed, "Maybe it does."

The pair walked out of the preparation area, heading for the canteen. Blake, Yang and Team JNPR had already gone there, having completed their bouts earlier. Ruby and Weiss had had one of the last fights of the day.

"It's going well so far," Ruby thought aloud. "But I wish that we had some better opponents..."

"You were having fun in that last fight, don't even try to deny it!" Weiss said, glaring at Ruby slightly.

"Well, yes, but... you know, I could be having more fun."

"It's for school, it's not intended to be fun."

"I know, but still, they could make it less boring."

Weiss shook her head, "I can never win with you, can I?"

"What do you mean? We just won..."

Weiss sighed, "That's not... never mind..."

* * *

Wednesday arrived, and with it the third round of the tournament. Now the pair were split up, and the final tree of sixteen competitors had been drawn up.

Weiss for one was relieved when she saw the listings. Pyrrha and Yang were both placed so that she could not be fighting them until the finals. 'And if Ruby does her job, it will be not at all,' she thought to herself as she stared at the listings.

Nora and Jaune had ended up on her side of the bracket, with Jaune being her first opponent. She smiled at that: another easy round for her. Blake was at the far end of Weiss's half, placed, as Blake herself had said, so that Weiss would fight her in the semi-final, if at all.

The other names in the list were not ones Weiss was terribly familiar with. She had encountered those people before, but not often. Teams often stuck to themselves, or occasionally socialised with one other team, so Weiss was only vaguely familiar with a lot of her classmates. To her, the fights of interest would be the semi-final and finals.

"Weiss Schnee and Jaune Arc to the arena please!" a voice called out. It was her turn. Weiss walked over to the arena, seeing Ruby walking out of it triumphantly.

"You won then?" Weiss asked, already knowing the answer.

"Do you need to ask?" Ruby smirked. "We promised, didn't we?"

Weiss nodded, "Well it's my turn to keep it. Wish me luck."

"Do you need it?" Ruby asked, giggling.

"Well no, but it can't hurt, can it?"

Weiss stepped out into the arena, waving behind her to her girlfriend. Jaune stood nervously waiting, quivering slightly as Weiss drew her rapier.

"Let's get this over with," Weiss said quietly. A bell rang, and Weiss lunged forwards.

* * *

A/N: So this is... short, again. There's a reason for that! Sort-of. Yeah, most of this chapter is getting us going with the tournament, trying to get to the good bits sooner rather than later. Also, I'm currently trying to finish my university project early, so yeah, that's a thing. But yes, this is what it is.

'Til Eternity Ends

E.D.


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